Faded Memories (Chapter 1)
by thewolveriness
Summary: Several weeks after the attack on DC, the Winter Soldier is hiding out somewhere within the city. In New York, Steve Rogers recruits one of his friends to help track the Winter Soldier down, a mutant by the name of Zeryn Lockhart. Can she help break the Winter Soldier free of his brainwashing? ((Zeryn is my X-Men RP character.))
1. Chapter 1

While the streets of New York City were abuzz with people heading home from their five and six o'clock shifts, the edge of the city seemed a bit less that. It was a bit quieter, but the sounds of car horns could still be heard as a few people walked past to catch a cab or head to the train station. As the people hurried on, they completely ignored the punk girl sitting, cross-legged, on one of the benches outside of a coffee house. She was busy texting someone with a book sitting on her lap and one earbud in her ear. A small messenger bag was laying on the bench next to her.

She wore a pair of plaid pants that were tucked into her combat boots, which looked to have seen better years, but were holding together rather nicely. A black Good Charlotte tank top was partly covered by a black cropped cardigan with a pentagram on the back of it. The side of her head was buzzed, but it was hard to tell with some of her shoulder length hair covering it. Several facial piercings could be seen which included lip, nose, and left eyebrow, which had two. Her left ear was pierced 5 times and the right 4 times.

As soon as she placed her iPhone down on top of her book, she saw a small black blur out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head slightly to see a fake black rose with dark red glitter tips resting on her shoulder. She leaned back and tilted her head up to see a man with dirty blonde hair looking down at her. He wore a white shirt, leather jacket, jeans and a pair of gym shoes. She smiled lightly at him.

"Always bringing me gifts, even when you know I'm already with someone." She said before sitting back up and turning off the music on her phone.

"Well, I know you collect these. Found it in a store. Thought you might like it." He replied to her while holding the rose and waiting for her to pack up her book and earbuds.

"I haven't seen that kind yet. I have a feeling I'm going to need a bigger vase to put them in." The girl closed up her book and stuck it into her bag first before putting her earbuds in a small pocket within. After shoving her phone in her back pocket, she grabbed the strap of her bag and flung it over her shoulder while rising from her seat.

"That'll be my next gift, then."

She turned back to him, then jumped up on the bench. She was slightly taller than him now. She looked down at him, "I'm picky about what I put my roses in."

He grinned slightly, "I know you are."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheeks, "Steve, how've you been, mein freund?"

Steve smiled at her as he hugged her, "You know…saving the world and kicking some butt, as always."

"Shouldn't you be in DC doing that?" She asked with a smile.

"Hey! Gotta come home sometimes, you know." He let her go, then held out his hand for her, "How about we get something to drink?"

She took his hand, then jumped over the back of the bench. When he offered the rose to her, she took it, then nodded, "I could so go for a hot chocolate right about now." She took his arm and allowed him to lead her to the coffee shop.

Steve, being the 'old school' man that he was, opened up the door for her to allow her to enter first.

She looked up at him, "You are such a gentleman, you know that."

"Can't help it, Zeryn. It's kind of in my blood…literally."

She smiled at him, "I have no problem with that." She replied before entering the shop with him close behind her. She went over to one of the coolers and grabbed a fruit cup before looking back at him, "Do you want to share?"

"Nah. I'm not too hungry right now. But, I don't mind 'stealing' some of yours…if I do get hungry."

"Of course." Zeryn said as she looked around and saw the couch by the fireplace was open. She handed the cup to him, "I'm going to steal that couch for us. You know what I want." She winked at him before running off to the abandon couch, which wouldn't be abandon for long.

While Steve ordered and paid for the drinks and the fruit, Zeryn got herself comfortable on the leather couch. She laid her bag on the coffee table in front of the couch, then grabbed her phone out of her pocket and replied to a message she had receive. She rolled her eyes slightly at the message seeing as the person didn't like the fact that she had taken their motorcycle for a 'joy ride' and said person wanted it back. Well, they'd get it back…once she returned to the mansion after her visit with her friend. After the message was sent, she put her phone on silent and laid it down on the table before removing her cardigan and laying it on the arm rest.

Steve walked over to her, several moments later, and put the fruit cup down on the table before handing her the drink, "Hope it's alright. I know you don't like it too hot. Plus, there's whipped cream." He said before seating himself down next to her and taking a sip of his coffee, "After this, I'm going for a run."

"I don't run. I power walk." Zeryn replied as she took a sip of her drink, "Not bad. A tad bit hot, but I'll live. Just dislike when it's super hot and I burn my tongue."

"Though you could heal yourself?" Steve asked while seating his coffee down before taking off his jacket and laying it on the couch. He picked up the coffee.

"I can…just not my tongue." Zeryn took another sip before setting the cup down and grabbing the fruit cup. She took the lid off, then grabbed the fork, that was attached to the side of the cup, and started to eat, "So, I got your message earlier. What's up?"

Steve held the cup in his hand for a moment before looking around, then down at the cup, "The…Winter Soldier." He spoke in a low, soft voice, but he was more than aware that Zeryn could hear him.

Zeryn put her hand to her mouth for a moment, finishing a piece a watermelon, before speaking, "What about him?"

Steve stayed silent for a very long while. A million emotions welled up inside of him as he thought about the man he had fought several long days back in DC…on the helicarrier. That man was someone he knew in the past. It was someone he loved and trusted. Someone who he looked up to. Someone who took care of him when he had no one. The one who promised him he'd be there till the end of the line.

It took all the courage Steve had within him to say, "Bucky. It was Bucky."

Zeryn didn't have the words to say. She knew that Steve was frozen for seventy years in ice, for he had told her that. He told her about being in World War Two and how Bucky had died. Even she couldn't gather how someone could have survived the fall Bucky had taken that faithful day. She was beyond lost for words.

She put the cup down before grabbing her drink. The only words that were able to come from her mouth were, "…what are you asking me to do?"

While she enjoyed hanging out with her friend when he was in the city, or in the state, she had a feeling he had something important for her to do. She didn't care what it was because she would do anything for her friends. She had a feeling this involved Bucky. She wasn't sure what he was going to ask of her, but…she did have an idea.

A huge weight was lifted from Steve's shoulders. He had been trying to think of a way to ask her, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. He was aware that she experienced memory loss, but she was still as sharp as a tack, just like she had been before losing her memory. He never knew her before that, but she had gone to see a psychic, who had informed her about her past self.

He looked over at her, "I'm pretty sure he was brainwashed. I told him who he was…as much as I could about his past before the helicarrier we were on was destroyed. I remember falling into the water below…after that…I woke up on the beach. I was certain I was going to die. But, someone pulled me out of the water."

"And, you think that someone was Bucky?" She watched as he slowly nodded his head. She leaned over to her bag and pulled it closer to her. She reached into the small pocket she had put her earbuds in, and pulled out a smaller looking iPhone. She put her drink down on the table, then turned on the device. She began to go through it.

Steve had managed to catch a glance at the back of the device as his eyes widened. Low and behold it was from S.H.I.E.L.D. He recognized it because he had seen some of the other agents use them as well as Nick Fury and some of his fellow Avengers, mainly Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner. He knew that the devices held secret files that could be transported between agents while away from base, as well as other information S.H.I.E.L.D. had been keeping from the world. All the devices were assigned to the agents and returned before they were to be off duty. To find out that someone outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., mainly one of his friends, had one of the devices was beyond him. He was aware that her boyfriend was a master thief, but even Steve knew that there was no way he could have broken into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and gotten ahold of one of the devices.

"How did you…get that?" He asked her as she kept looking through the information.

"Relax, mon ami. I got this from Clint." She replied to him before pausing and looking up at him, "He grabbed me one of the older ones that Fury was going to throw out. I'm limited to what I can get on here, anyways. Most of the information, Clint was able to pass onto me."

Steve sat back with a sigh, "What if Fury finds out?"

"Then it gets shut down and I discard it into the river…or somewhere that they can't locate it." She turned the device to him and showed him a picture of Bucky pulling Steve out of the water, "You're not wrong that he was the one who saved you, if that's what you've been thinking about."

Steve kept his eyes locked to the device. Even he couldn't grasp the fact that it was Bucky who almost killed him several times. Who was the mysterious Winter Soldier that he committed so many deadly assassinations. All he remembered was seeing his friend fall to his death. Never in a million years could he imagine he'd run into him again. The question was, how in the world did HYDRA get ahold of Bucky? How was Bucky not dead from the fall? Could Bucky's memory be restored, if he was just brainwashed? There were way too many questions filling his brain that he felt he was about to have a headache. He drank some more of his coffee before deciding to speak.

"I might need an expresso…and a very long run."

Zeryn turned the device off, then reached over and touched his hand, "Keep calm. No need to have that much caffein…I don't think it'll help your running either."

"I just…I have so many questions. There are so many emotions whipping through my body at such a fast rate. I've never felt like this before. Unless you count crashing an airplane full of explosives into the Arctic Ocean. He's my best friend. If it weren't for Bucky, I'd have nothing."

"There, there, you'll get your chance. If Bucky really was brainwashed, then regaining his memory really shouldn't be a big issue. I'm sure there are things floating around inside of him trying to remember. Though, he may be having a tough time with it. A few small things should help jog his memory. He might not be the man you use to know, and he may never be, but there's no harm in trying."

"I understand that…I just want to see my friend again. I know he doesn't look the same, but I can see it in his face. He's still Bucky. He's still the guy who cared for me." He was desperately trying to hold back his emotions. He knew that a soldier never showed any signs of weakness, but he couldn't help but let a tear or two shed from his eye.

Zeryn always disliked when one of her friends was upset. It never failed to crush her inside, never failed to make her feel weak and helpless. However, she had an idea that Steve may need her help with Bucky. Whatever it was, she was up for the challenge.

She raised her hand and whipped the tears away, "What can I do to help?" She asked.

"I'm still afraid to confront him. I need more time. You've been through memory loss. I think if he talks to someone who's in the same position as him, it might make him feel better." Steve sat up a little more, so he was more comfortable, "All I want you to do is find him and I'll give you the place he grew up at, see if that might help. And, there's a display at the Smithsonian Institution that should be of much help. Not only does it display some of the things I've donated to them, but there's a section all about Bucky. I'm hoping that it'll jog his memory."

"I can't say that I suffered from brainwash. I've lost my memory permanently, but I was manipulated." She took his hand and gripped it tightly, "I'll get ahold of Clint to see if he can give me any leads on Bucky. I promise you, I'll do my best to bring Bucky back to you, no matter what. All I ask is that you hang around here. I'll keep you informed as to what's going on."

A slight smile came across Steve's face as another tear rolled down his cheek, "Why do you have such a big heart?"

"Why do you?" She smiled back at him before leaning over some more and hugging him tightly.

Steve hugged her back, but noticed that she was starting to lean on him. He quickly moved his coffee out of the way, "Hey. Don't fall asleep on me, now. Don't need your boyfriend to randomly walk in."

"He's busy packing for a trip to New Orleans. He's leaving in the morning and won't be back for about a week or so. As long as he keeps out of trouble and doesn't hustle anyone clean, then I'm not worried about him…but I should be."

"If I was dating someone who's a hustler and a thief, I'd be worried as well." Steve took a sip of his coffee as he rested his other hand on her side.

Zeryn shrugged a little, "He can handle himself. He's gotten himself into sticky situations before and he's handled those just fine. He's just over flooding his back account. I'm surprised the bank hasn't questioned him yet."

"You'd think that they would."

"Heck, as long as he has proof that he won it in a poker game, then it's not my problem." She was able to reach over to the table and grab the fruit cup. She began to eat some more while resting on her side with her head on Steve's chest.

"You really don't care about him, do you?"

"No, I do. Believe me, I do. If I didn't, then I wouldn't be dating him. Yes, he does things that make me question why I'm dating him, but his trust and loyalty will never cease to keep me attached to his side. He does care a lot about me. He, almost, didn't let me leave to come visit you. I fear what he's going to think when I tell him about this little mission."

"He had better stay out of it. I don't need Bucky to run off on us."

Zeryn turned her head and looked at him, "Oh, believe me, he ain't coming with me. He's going to New Orleans whether he likes it or not." She ate another piece of fruit.

"That's a relief." Steve said with a sigh. There was no way he was going allow Bucky to run anymore. If Zeryn couldn't convince Bucky, then he was going to have to do this on his own. But, for now, all he wanted to do was relax and…, "So, tell me the story about how you kicked that guy's butt in the casino."

Zeryn's mouth quickly turned into a big grin as she remembered that day her boyfriend had taken her into a casino to get some information on someone they were looking for. Oh, the twisted look on the guy's face when he found out that he shouldn't have made sexist comments to her. She still hadn't been able to figure out how her boyfriend managed to keep his 'poker face' on during the whole thing. Even though Steve had heard the story five or six times, she always enjoyed retelling it because she knew that Steve loved to hear her stories as much as she enjoyed hearing his.

"Well…it all began when…"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure he's still in DC?" Zeryn spoke to Clint over the phone while sitting on the leather couch in her dorm room at the X Mansion.

Her dorm was the size of a small apartment with a kitchen, living room, bathroom and one bedroom. All the furniture, which included a fold out couch and two chairs, were made of leather. The coffee table was made from wood. There was a flat screen TV hanging up on the wall, but it was set to only one station and that was an all 80's music station. The counters in the kitchen were marble and the flooring was marble as well. The bathroom had marble flooring, too. The rest of the floor was carpet.

"Hope he isn't planing to go anywhere anytime soon. Do you know where he's staying? How can I contact him?" She looked down for a moment as she listened to Clint, then nodded slightly to herself, "Send me any and all information you have on him up to this point. I'll figure the rest out from there…Thanks and have a good evening. Adios."

As soon as she had hung up and put the phone down, there was a knock on the door. She sighed slightly, then laid her head back on the couch, "The door is open." She called.

Within moments, a man with shoulder length brown hair was sitting on the couch next to her. He was wearing his signature dark brown trench coat, a pair of jean, boots and a purple button down shirt.

She turned her head to the side, "Did you remember to close the door this time, Remy?"

"I think I did." Remy said in a Cajun accent.

Zeryn looked at him for several moments before looking up at the ceiling and calling, "COOKIE!"

"What?! No!" Remy quickly jumped to his feet and ran over to the door, "I'm closin' da…NO!" He fell to the ground as an Australian Shepard jumped on top of him and started to lick his face.

Zeryn sat up and turned slightly to look over by the door. She grinned slightly before calling to the dog, "Cookie, kommen hier. Come here."

The dog quickly jumped off of Remy and ran over to the couch. She jumped up on it and sat next to Zeryn.

"Good girl, Cookie." Zeryn patted her head, then reached over to a small jar she kept on the coffee table that was filled with dog biscuits. She opened it, pulled out a biscuit and gave it to Cookie before putting the lid back on.

"Hey! Dat dog took ma spot!" Remy said as he sat down in the chair that was closest to where Zeryn was sitting on the couch.

"Well, you need to learn to close the door when you come in." Zeryn replied to him as she got comfortable on the couch. She pulled out the device from her pocket and noticed that Clint was able to send her a good amount of information as to where Bucky was hanging out in DC. He was even able to locate where he was staying, which was at one of the hotels near all the monuments.

Remy looked over at her as he raised an eyebrow, "Cherie…what are ya lookin' up?"

"As of tomorrow morning, I have a mission to complete for Steve." Zeryn replied to him as she grabbed her phone and texted the professor to see if he could get her a room in the same hotel that Bucky was staying in.

"Cherie! Ya shouldn' be gettin' yaself mixed up with dem." Remy replied to her.

"This has nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm helping Steve locate his long, lost friend. He's been brainwashed and saved Steve after he fell out of the helicarrier when it was destroyed. Steve's still a bit afraid to confront him, so he's asking me to bring him back here. Plus, Steve thinks that his friend will have an easier time speaking to me, since we both have 'memory loss', even if mine's more permeant than his."

"Can' he just suck it up an' go hunt his friend down on his own?"

"At this point…I think it's going to be hard for both of them to face one another." Zeryn passed the device over to Remy for him to have a look at who the person was she was referring to.

Remy took the device from her and had a look. He glanced up at Zeryn with a sort of fear in his eyes, "Cherie…"

"I know, but that's Steve's friend. He's been brainwashed by HYDRA. Steve said that he was able to trigger a few things within him and he believes that's why he saved Steve from the water."

"He's an assassin! How da ya know he might not try an' kill ya?!"

Zeryn leaned over as she gave him a serious look. She made her metal claws come out of her fists and then cut her arm. The cuts healed just as quickly as they had appeared.

"I'm not too worried about that. My only concern is if HYDRA is snooping around for him. But, I'm pretty sure they have other things to worry about than him." She reached over and took the device from him.

"What if they is?"

"I'm prepared for a fight. I feel that there's nothing we were ever trained for. Plus, my powers will come in handy."

"Tell me, mon amour, why do ya like ta play with fire?"

"Because I want to help my friend. Plus," She stood up, then walked over to him and sat down on his lap, "I'm ready for another fun adventure. And, you're leaving tomorrow anyways and I don't feel like dealing with Logan right now."

"Though he was headin' ta Canada in a few days." Remy wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

"He is…he just might not have a nice, new Harley Davidson to take him up there." Zeryn grinned slightly as she leaned back on him.

Remy pretty much gave himself a face palm when he heard what she was saying. He knew what that meant. He'd have to 'break' into Logan's room and steal the keys for her.

"Mon amour."

The next morning Zeryn and Remy were outside near the garage getting themselves ready for their long trips. Remy had promised to lead Zeryn to DC, then would head off to New Orleans from there. Zeryn finished putting the tail bag on the back of the bike before double checking the side bags to make sure they were on tight enough. She knew that the trip was going to be a little over four hours, but with rest stops along the way, it would be a little over five. Either way, she was excited to get to DC because she had never been there before. She had planned out how she was going to spend the rest of the day as soon as they arrived and how she was going to be able to get a chance to see Bucky the next day.

"Ready ta head out?" Remy asked her as he closed the truck of his Porch. He had won several different kinds of cars playing poker and even gave Zeryn one of them, but he did allow her to drive the others, "Da quicker we get down there, da quicker I can get ta my first game."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just do me a favor and don't hustle anyone clean, please." Zeryn said as she stood up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Can' make any promises on dat. Havin' da money is nice. I can use it ta spoil ya ta death!" Remy kissed her back.

"Oh geez! You don't need to do that, but I do appreciate the offer." She grabbed a leather jacket that was sitting on the seat of the bike and put it on. There was a large X with a circle around it on the back of the jacket. She got onto the bike, "Do me a favor and don't drive like a lunatic. I do need to keep up with you, you know."

"Don't worry, I won'." Remy reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out an Bluetooth ear piece. He handed it to her, "So we can talk ta each other. Let me know when ya need a break…or need gas."

Zeryn took the ear piece and put it in her ear, "Need someone to talk to on the way."

"I know. Now," Remy pulled another ear piece out of his pocket and put it on his ear. He moved over to his car, then opened it up, "let us be on our way."

Zeryn started up the motorcycle, then waited until Remy had pulled out of the garage. As soon as he did, she kicked up the kickstand and followed after him on their journey to the Nation's Capital.

After over five hours and two rest stops, one for gas and another just to move around and stretch, they rolled into DC and towards the hotel. Things still looked a bit chaotic from the disaster that had occurred several days back, but it appeared that most of the people were going about their every day lives again. While the hotel required a parking garage, Remy decided to park in a parking lot across from it. Zeryn had pulled up next to him and was quickly off the bike as soon as it was shut off and the kickstand was down. She groaned slightly as she sat on the trunk of the Porch.

"UGH! The inside of my thighs! They hurt SO much right now!" She laid back on the trunk and looked up at the sky as Remy locked up the car and went over to her.

"Ya're da one who wanted ta drive dat thin' down here." He replied to her.

"Guess it's different when you're driving it. I've never felt like that when Logan would drive."

Remy shrugged, "Haven't driven one 'a dem thin's in a long while, so I can' tell ya." He had a look around, "Da place seems ta be calmin' down a bit."

"It'll take awhile before everything gets back to normal. I can only imagine what they must be going through. Another reason for me to hunt down Bucky and fast. I wouldn't be surprised if the police are looking for him."

"Ya betta be careful den. I don' think HYDRA's da only ones ya need ta be on da lookout for down here."

"The sooner I can get Bucky out of here, the better. He'll be safer in New York City with Steve until everything blows over. Right now, I need to worry about if he'll fall for my little 'trick' or not." She sat up, then jumped off of the trunk. She went over to the tail bag and opened it up. She grabbed her small messenger bag out of it, then closed up the bag.

"What da ya have in mind?" Remy questioned as he watched Zeryn take his hand and lead him over to one of the monuments that was a short walking distance from the parking lot.

"I was going to slip a note under his hotel room door saying to meet me at the local Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. I'm going to 'sign it' with the X logo. I'm hoping that'll give him a reason to come. Let him know that this person isn't a threat to him."

"Seems legit." Remy saw Zeryn take him over to the Wall of Valor, "What we doing here?"

"Steve said that Bucky's name is on the wall. I want to have a look. I'm going to need your help to find it. It's Sargent James Barnes."

Remy scanned the wall as he whistled, "Damn! Dere's a lot 'a names on here! Dis could take forever." He was so busy admiring the wall that he hadn't realized that Zeryn had let go of his hand and had moved further on down the wall. It wasn't until she called his name that he was able to snap out of the moment. He looked down and saw her waving to him. He quickly made his way to where she was standing.

"Did ya find it?" He asked her.

Zeryn pointed to the wall. While she had found Bucky's name, there was something wrong with it. It appeared that someone, mostly likely the person who's name it belonged to, tried to 'carve' the name off the wall as if they didn't believe this person was deserving enough to be on such a wall of greatness.

Remy stood awestruck by what he saw on the wall. While he admitted to doing stupid stuff in the past, he would never do a thing like this. "Damn…" Was the only word that could escape his mouth. It came out in a low, soft tone, but even Zeryn could pick up his words.

Zeryn walked up to the wall and put her hand on Bucky's name. She ran her hand down it carefully in order to feel the marks. They had been done with a knife, no doubt, and it seemed that the marks were fresh, meaning that they must have been done either the night before, or a few hours ago.

She removed her hand from the wall and took a step back while pulling her phone out of her pocket. If anything, she knew that she had to show this to Steve. Even though Bucky had been brainwashed, it was obvious that he felt he was not worthy enough to have his name upon the wall. She felt that was not true. Steve talked about how great of a soldier and a person he was. If only Bucky would have gotten help before hand, then his name wouldn't be covered in knife marks on a wall that he deserved to be on.

She took a picture of it to send to Steve, "Looks like he's already found the wall. It's a shame, really, that he feels this way." Once the picture had been taken, she quickly sent it off to Steve, "You can't erase your name off the Wall of Valor, no matter how hard you try."

"Tis gonna be hard for dem ta fix dat up."

"I doubt that." Zeryn put her phone back into her pocket, "He'll regret that once his memories start to come back to him, that much I can promise."

"Da ya really think ya can help him?" Remy asked as she held his hand and went back to the parking lot. He knew that her memory loss was permanent and nothing anyone told her or showed her pictures of would trigger anything.

Zeryn nodded, "Like Steve said. He kept saying things to Bucky and he could tell that he was trying to remember. Besides," She paused and faced him, "Bucky was always there to help Steve when he needed it. Bucky took care of him when his mom died. Bucky was like his big brother. He would never let anything happen to Steve. My guess is that when Steve fell into the water, something clicked inside of him to go in after his friend and pull him to safety. Bucky's still inside there. I doubt his situation is anything like mine. Well, it's really nothing like mine."

Remy hated to admite it, but he knew that Zeryn was right. There was a large difference between memory loss and brainwashing. He always asked these questions because he was scared for her. He was scared to lose her again. While he had met before her memory loss, he knew that she would never be the same girl that he had met back then, but he still loved her all the same. It had given him to opportunity to take her to places that she had taken him and vis versa. Giving her the same experiences she had given to him. The only reason he couldn't remember her when she came to the mansion with the memory loss was because she had drastically changed her hair style. He couldn't recognize her, even if she never changed her clothing style. He hadn't seen her in several long months after she started college. It wasn't until they went to see the psychic in New Orleans that the wheels in his head began to turn. It wasn't until they went to her parents' house to rest for the night that they were able to find pictures of them together and read through a journal that she kept that was about her adventures with him. He had, almost, lost her once and he sure as heck wasn't going to again.

"Just be careful, alright, mon amour." He leaned down, since she was shorter than him, and kissed her for several long moments before pulling away.

A slight blush was left on Zeryn's face after he had removed his lips from hers. She looked at him with a slight smile, "Don't worry, I will be. And, you, behave yourself down there."

Remy grinned slightly, "I'll do ma best." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a box. He handed it to her, "Ya know what dis is. Use it wisely…if ya need ta."

Zeryn took the box from him and opened it up, even though she already knew what it was. Because Remy was able to pass on a bit of his kinetic energy powers to her in the past, he asked the professor to have a special cross necklace made for her that wouldn't be damaged when he'd lock his power into the necklace. While she could wear the necklace at any time, the power within could only be activated when she touched it with her finger or hand. The power, of course, was limited for if he were to transfer most of his power to it, he was sure to be passed out on the floor for several long hours until it kicked back in. The box the necklace was in was specially crafted to make sure that it wouldn't catch the power and end up blowing up.

She closed the box, then put it into her bag, "I'll keep this on me the whole time. I highly doubt I'll have to use it."

"If not, den ya can use it later an' blow some stuff up at da mansion."

"I think I'll wait until you get back." She took his hand and led him back over to the Porch and Harley, "I think I need to check in soon. Plus, I need to have a look at that exhibit before the institution closes for the day."

"Got yar whole day planned out already?" Remy questioned as he paused next to the driver's side door of the Porch and leaned against it.

"Pretty much. After I visit the institution, I'm going to have a walk around the Capital. I hear the cherry blossom trees are pretty this time of year."

"Den ya better be sure ta take a picture and send it to me." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I will. Just make sure you don't look at it until you get down there. No texting and driving."

"I won'. I'll message ya when I get there. Be safe." Remy opened up the door to the Porch and got inside. Before he got a chance to close the door, Zeryn was standing there blocking the way. He looked at her.

"Don't send anyone home without money, alright." She leaned into the car and kissed him, "I love you, Remy."

"Can' make dat kind 'a promise, but I'll try." He kissed her back, "I love ya, too, Zeryn. Don' go gettin' yaself mixed up in anythin'."

"Same to you." She moved out of the way and closed the door just as Remy started the car. As soon as he left, she rushed over to the motorcycle and made her way to the hotel just in time to check herself in.

Around ten at night, Bucky returned to his hotel room, which was on the first floor and the last room at the end of the hall, tired as hell. He felt like he had run a really long marathon…well, he had been running a lot today, but not because he was being chased. He was running to try and clear his mind. It helped…kind of, anyway. All the things the man on the helicarrier had told him kept running through his mind. Was this man really telling the truth or just trying to trick him? Right now, he was hoping that he'd have a better nights sleep. He ran his metal hand through his semi-long brown hair, that went down to the bottom of his neck, while opening the door with his other hand. As soon as he stepped into his room, he saw a note on the floor. He glanced around for a moment before kneeling down and picking it up. He closed the door with his boot, then made his way over to his bed and sat down.

The room he was staying in wasn't very big. It just had a bathroom, small closet next to the door, two beds, a night stand and a TV sitting on top of a small dresser.

He didn't care much as long as he had a place to hide out from HYDRA, then he was fine. He opened up the note and read what it said inside.

'Meet me at the Hard Rock Cafe between 11 and 11:30am. Lunch is on me.'

Under that was an X with a circle around it.

He stared at it for several moments. Obviously, it wasn't someone from HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to hunt him down, but he was at a complete loss. Who in the heck would sign their name with an X with a circle around it? What did this person want from him? Did they accidentally mean to send it to another room and it was sent to his by mistake? But, more importantly, what the heck was a Hard Rock Cafe?

He hadn't spent much time outside of HYDRA. And, when he did, he was just on a mission, then would return where they'd keep him locked up in a frozen prison until they needed him again. The thought of it brought chills down his spin as he gripped the blanket with his metal hand. All his emotions began to bottle up inside of him until he reminded himself about the note. He looked down at it again as all the emotions seemed to drain from him.

He figured that he should go. Maybe this person wasn't bad. Maybe they could help him out. Help him remember who he was and who he was suppose to be. But, that didn't mean that he would let his guard down. Who knows if any of HYDRA's agents were sneaking around looking for him. But, for now, all he wanted to do was rest…and figure out what the heck this 'cafe' was all about and…what does one wear to a place called Hard Rock Cafe?


	3. Chapter 3

By ten forty the next morning, Zeryn was already on the motorcycle and leaving the parking garage that was connected to the hotel. She didn't realized it, but Bucky was leaving the hotel himself, though he had to walk, since he didn't have any other means of transportation, and he felt absolutely ridiculous!

Since he had no idea what this cafe…or restaurant was like, he managed to get himself to a store he'd passed the day before while running. The staff there was really nice and not only told him about it, but fixed him up with some clothes. Yeah, he'd be the last one to guess that he'd be getting a 'concert' make over. While the store, which was Hot Topic, had black baggy pants, he wasn't too fond of the chains on them. He wanted to keep a low profile and jingling chains was the very last thing he needed to draw attention to himself, so he had to deal with the next 'best thing'…skinny black jeans. Unable to find a plain black shirt, they hooked him up with a black Sex Pistols shirt…he had NO idea who the heck this band was! And, on top of that, they gave him a black zip up Public Enemy Distressed Target Logo hoodie. To add icing to the cake, a bullet belt to pull off the look.

Yeah…right now, he felt like a punk poser. He had the hood pulled as far over his face as humanly possible. He did like the fact that the pants tucked nicely into his combat boots…they even looked good with the boots, but they were tight in a few places that he didn't find comfortable. He didn't understand how in the world guys could wear such pants in the first place. Girls…yeah, he could understand that. But guys?! Seriously?! At this point, he was betting that every woman he walked past was either laughing or talking about his pants. While his hands were shoved in the pockets of the hoodie, he wore a glove on his metal hand, so not to be questioned. He was aware that the world knew who he was…at least, he assumed that to be true. Either way, he had to keep his profile as low as possible. But, right now, he had to focus on getting to the restaurant and meet this mysterious person.

Zeryn got to the restaurant ten minutes before they opened, but she would have to walk the rest of the way because the parking lot next to the restaurant was full, which meant…another parking garage. She was lucky enough to find a spot on the second level near the end next to a truck. She was smart enough to leave the back tire of the motorcycle showing, so that others wouldn't think that the spot was vacant. That was one thing she didn't like about traveling with Logan on the motorcycle. He'd always pull it close to the end of the spot, then laugh at those who'd try to get into the spot once they realized there was a motorcycle parked there. All she'd do is roll her eyes in annoyance, then hit him on the arm.

As soon as she dismounted the bike, she looked to make sure no one was coming and that there were no cameras around before removing a different leather jacket than the one she had previously worn the day before. This one was more 'fit' to her and had a red X with a circle around it on the back. Along with her combat boots and a pair of black skinny pants, she had on a fishnet long sleeved top that was tucked into her pants. Her black sports bar could kind of be seen thought it. She kneeled next to the motorcycle and opened up the side bag. She pulled out a black hi-lo vest with flux leather snap front and square neckline. Once she put it on and buttoned it up, she pulled her small messenger bag out of the bag, then closed it up. She grabbed her jacket, then headed over to the elevator that would take her to the ground level.

When she boarded the elevator, she noticed that two guys, most likely friends, were standing behind her and were giving her a look she didn't like. Of course, she'd wait for the elevator to close to see how this would end up. Once it did, she sensed them coming up to her in a way that made her think to herself, 'Touch me and you'll get your asses kicked.'

And, she was right. One of the guys was about to grab her chest, which wasn't very big, while the other was making sexual comments. They were going to wish they didn't do that.

Once the elevator opened up, they were both knocked out on the elevator floor as Zeryn exited. Personally, she didn't care who might have saw. She might have looked short, she was only five foot three, and helpless, but she really wasn't. She trained hard in their martial arts class at the mansion and was use to having her butt kicked around by Logan…even though most of the time she was the one putting Logan's butt to the ground.

"Why must guys always feel the need to treat girls that way?" She said to herself as she whipped out her sunglasses and put them on just as she left the parking garage and began to walk to the restaurant. There was a bit of a light wind, so she put her jacket on while she walked, which was a bit hard due to the strap on her bag, but she got it to work out.

Lucky for her, she wouldn't have to reserve a table for them because Bucky wasn't that far behind her. He noticed the same mark on her jacket that was on the letter left in his room. He figured this was who he was meeting with. Though, he didn't believe that the person was going to be a girl…let alone one who was dressed kind of like him! What the heck?! Ok, this was kind of awkward…as if he didn't already feel that way to begin with, considering the outfit he was wearing. The pants were starting to loosen up a little, but they were still proving to be uncomfortable in the same places. He slowly approached her as she tied her hair back.

Zeryn was able to catch his shadow out of the corner of her eye. Right now, she was thankful the sun was at their backs because it made it easier for her to tell if someone was walking past her or not. She turned to see that he was standing right behind her.

Bucky was trying hard to keep an awestruck look off of his face. No way was he meeting up with a girl! She looked like she was in high school…or maybe middle school?! What the heck was he thinking! There's no way she'd be out here by herself at such an age. And, wanting to meet up with him…an assassin…at least, that's what he thought he was. Or, was he a soldier…or had he been? His name was on the Wall of Valor, so he must have been, but…why would someone who's done so many bad things have their name on such a great wall? Right now, all he wanted was answers and he was hoping this girl would give them to him.

"Are you the one who left the note in my room?" He questioned her.

Zeryn raised up her sunglasses and put them on top of her head as she looked at him, "My name's Zeryn Lockhart." She held out her hand to him, "I'm with Professor Charles Xavier, the X-Men." She bowed her head slightly when Bucky shook her hand, "A mutant, if you will."

A mutant? Alright, what did this…mutant want with him? He had never run into one of these people during his missions. Ok, so she wasn't with HYDRA, which was a good thing. And, it was even better that HYDRA wanted nothing to do with these so called mutants.

"Can't say I'd call myself one of you."

"Believe me, Bucky, we're a lot more alike than you think we are."

Bucky's eyes widened. How in the world did this girl…mutant…ugh! How in the world did she know his name? Was that his name? The man on the helicarrier had said that name to him. So, it must have been his name. But, the man had mentioned another name…James Barnes. Which one was his real name? Was it both? Or was Bucky just a nickname? Too many questions that needed to be answered!

"You have questions, I can tell. I'll answer as many as I can. But, let's head inside and get ourselves a table." She lead him over to the door and walked inside. They were the first of only a few people to come right when the restaurant opened up.

Once they were inside, Bucky quickly figured out why the people at Hot Topic called it a 'concert hall' because it was! As a hostess lead them to a booth, he saw there was an upper level, a nice sized stage against one of the walls, which had tables on it when not in use, several small TVs playing so many different music videos and the music made you feel like you were at a concert by how loud it was playing. There was even a gift shop right where they came in at! At this point, he was hoping that he would be able to hear her when they were talking and that his ears wouldn't bleed.

The hostess took them over to a booth and set the menus down before walking off to seat some more guests that had walked in. Zeryn removed her bag and jacket before taking a seat across from Bucky, who was holding his hand to his ear and checking it to make sure there was no blood. While she did have very good hearing, she learned to tune out loud sounds. She had to. She had to deal with the girls living next to her yelling at each other almost every day. Of course, the professor was able to get them to shut up rather quickly. She had been to a Hard Rock in New York City with Logan at least four times, so she was use to the kinds of music that was being played. But, the sound would eventually be drowned out as more people showed up and began to chat up a storm.

"Do you mind if I order for us?" She asked Bucky, who was still busy making sure his ears weren't going to start bleeding at any second, "I believe they're having an all you can eat fish fry. We can share some fish."

"Yeah…that's fine." Bucky had to admit to himself that he never really ate much at HYDRA. They just stuck him in a tube and, somehow, he was able to survive with out food or water. Perhaps an I.V. here or there, but being free was a whole different ballpark for him. Right now, all he was hoping for was for the music to just quiet down a bit. At least he was aware to stay away from concerts if they caused his ears this much pain. He laid his arms on the table in front of him, then rested his head on them. Even if he put his hood up, the music was still way too loud for him to bare. It wasn't until he felt Zeryn's hand on his arm that he looked up at her.

"I don't get how you kids listen to this stuff. How is it your ears aren't bleeding?" He asked her.

"I learned to tune it out. I have enhanced senses, so this is driving me even more crazy than you. But, I'm ignoring it. Besides, I needed a place like this for us to talk. I don't think anyone will be listening to us, as there's not many people here yet, but best be safe than sorry."

"I really wouldn't have minded if you came to my room and just knocked on the door."

"I guess that would have been a good option, but we're going somewhere else after this, so it's good to be out and about."

"And, where do you plan to take me?" Bucky sat up when he saw the waitress coming to them.

"Are you two ready to order?" She asked them.

"Can we get a basket of fish to share with fries on the side and fruit as well?" Zeryn asked her.

"Of course." The waitress said as she wrote it down, "And, what would you like to drink?"

"Oh…um…" Zeryn quickly looked at the menu. While she really wanted a kiddy cocktail, she didn't want to be hyper with Bucky around. Apparently, when she was hyper, she was way too much to handle…according to Logan and the professor. She figured she'd better play it safe, "I'll just have raspberry lemonade." She handed the waitress the menu.

"Water is fine for me." Bucky gave the menu to the waitress.

"Alright. I'll go put that order in for you and be back with your drinks in a moment." She said and walked off.

Once the waitress had left, Bucky's head was back down on the table. To him, music should never be this loud in a place like this…well, in any place period! He was lucky enough to catch a break as the music was turned down at bit. He let out a sigh of relief and lifted up his head. He noticed that the restaurant was starting to fill up a bit. At this point, he wasn't sure if the music had been turned down or was being drowned out by the sounds of those around them talking. No, it was defiantly the first one.

"Your ears feel better now?" Zeryn asked him as she crossed her legs on the sit and sat back a little.

"I think so." Bucky put his hand up to his ear one more time, then looked at his hand. Nothing. Good! Though, his hearing seemed a bit off balance. He hoped that would fix itself soon.

Zeryn waited for a moment before continuing on, "So, I'm guessing you have many questions that you'd like to have answered. You tell me where you'd like to start. And, don't be afraid to tell me to stop. I don't want to overwhelm you with all of this…well, with what I know, anyway."

Where to start? Where to start, indeed, was the one question that ran through his head right about now. Bucky wasn't really sure. What did he most want to know. Well, he wanted to know everything, but he was aware that she didn't fully know all the answers herself. Does that mean that she learned this information from someone else? If so, then who? It couldn't have been HYDRA. As far as he knew, they didn't work with these 'mutant' creatures…people, or didn't know that such people existed. What was a mutant anyway? He remembered her mentioning that she had really good senses, but was there more? Or, was that it? What made a mutant? Would his metal arm make him a mutant? Were all mutants normal like her?

UGH! How in the world did his mind just go from questions about himself to questions about something he had no clue what it was?! He was lucky to have enough time to figure out what to ask first for the waitress had returned with their drinks. As soon as she had walked off, he thought he had the perfect question in mind…problem was another quickly came speeding up, as if it were to be a follow up question. Great! Now he forgot what he was going to ask. At this point, he was just willing to lay down and pray that all the thoughts would drain from his mind.

Zeryn took a sip of her drink before reaching into her bag and pulling out the device. If he wasn't sure where to start, she may have a good place to start. She laid the device on the table and turned it on. She began to go through it, then found the picture of Bucky pulling Steve from the water. She turned it around and pushed it over to him.

"If there are too many questions for you to ask, then we'll start with this one and go from there; why did you pull him from the water? Weren't you suppose to kill him? If so, then why didn't you?"

Wait?! How did she know that it was his mission to kill him? Was she really working for…wait a second. Wasn't that the man that fell from the helicarrier? Wasn't that the man who kept trying to tell him who he was? Was that…the man from the bridge? Why did he save him?

"Who…is he?" Was all Bucky was able to muster up as he kept looking at the picture. He wasn't exactly sure how she was able to get it, but, right now, he didn't care. He figured it would be addressed as they went along.

"Steve Rogers." Zeryn replied to him. She reached over and tapped on the screen to make the image of Steve a bit larger, "He knows you because, once upon a time, you were his best friend. His only friend. Without you, he had nothing."

That name. Why did it sound so familiar? Was that the guy who was there when…he fell. Fell. That's as far as his memory would take him. But, what was he before the fall? Was this man the reason he fell?

Zeryn turned the device around and pulled it to herself. She began to go through it again as she spoke, "I know him. He's the one who sent me to see you. Again, I don't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I know Steve through one of my friends who works there…long story. I'll tell you at a later time, if you're interested. You see, I suffer from the same thing you do…kind of. I have permanent memory loss, meaning I can't remember who I was before I came to the X Mansion. You, on the other hand," She turned the device around and showed him a picture of himself and Steve back in the 1940's during the war. But, they weren't going into a battle. No. They were just standing around, smiling, "were just brainwashed, meaning that your memories are trying to surface. I think that's why you saved him from the water, because you couldn't bare the fact that you might have killed your best friend."

Bucky leaned forward to have a look at the picture. Soon, a few memories started to rush to his head. He was starting to remember, but only a few things. He needed more! He need to know more about himself and about his relationship with this man who he tried kill. This man had been right all along! Now he began to feel like an idiot for trying to kill him, but what could he do? His memory…just wasn't there.

"Brainwashed…is that…what happened to me?"

Zeryn nodded slightly, "Yes. Tell me, what's as far back as you can remember?"

Bucky sat back in the seat as he looked down at his metal arm, which was covered up by the hoodie, "Falling…just falling. And, blood. Lots of blood. My arm…" He closed his eyes tightly, "Just…falling and blood."

"That's a start." Zeryn took the device and turned it off before putting it back into her bag, "But, you know who Steve is, right?"

Even Bucky could admit to himself that a little light was starting to show through, but it was still pretty fuzzy. Without knowing it, he started to nod his head, but quickly shook his head as he opened up his eyes.

"Why did you save him?"

"I…don't know. Something inside me…just told me to. I'm not really sure why."

"It's because a part of you is in him and a part of him is in you." Zeryn moved her drink out of the way, then leaned over the table and took his hand with the glove on it, "I might not be able to regain my memories, but I might be able to help you regain yours." She smiled lightly, but it was kind of a pained smile. While she really didn't want to remember all the memories she had before losing her memory, the ones that she wanted to regain were of her and Remy. She'd give anything to have those memories.

Bucky looked down at her hand. It had been seventy years since someone had held his hand…at least, he assumed there was a girl somewhere in his life who'd hold his hand. He put his other hand on top of hers and watched as Zeryn pulled their hands onto the table, so that she wouldn't have to lean over the table. Her hand felt cold, but…something felt a little different. The top of her hand felt…strange. Was her mutation within her hands?

"What happened to you?"

Zeryn looked down for a moment as she gripped his hand a little. She had visited a famous and popular psychic in New Orleans who was able to show her her past before losing her memory, and even how her memory was lost. She hated to have those images come back to her, but she knew that she should tell Bucky to show him that they were really a lot a like. She looked up at him as she put her free hand down onto her leg. She knew that if she got too emotional her claws would come out. She was hoping that the claws on her hand would come out and harm her and that the others would just stay in her fist and wouldn't bring harm to Bucky. She was aware that the claws would hit his metal arm, but she was worried that they'd hit his good hand, which was still on top of hers.

"What I'm going to tell you is what I learned from a great psychic. I saw images in a crystal ball of what happened." She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, "I was in my freshman year of college. I was out walking on a path in a forest behind the school. I was attacked by a rival mutant. We put up a good fight until he knocked me out cold." She gripped her leg a little, "He dragged me off to some abandon lab and stuck me in a tank filled with water. There were needles…large, sharp needles that drilled through my skin and into my bones."

She could feel a tear roll down her cheek. OH! How she disliked displaying weakness in front of others in public. But, seeing all this stuff in the crystal ball made all her anger, frustration, and fear boil up inside of her.

"He put me inside of that tank and…had this metal put into my body…adamantium. He put such a large dose in my body, I was sure to have died then and there…and I did. But…my heart started to beat again. But, the screen…the one next to him…was flashing large red letters reading, 'Memory Loss'." Two more tears rolled down her cheeks, "After that, he took me into a room and I was out like that for about two or three days before he woke me up. My memory starts there. Him and a human used me to get information about the mutants at the mansion. The human wanted to do experiments on them. The mutant wanted the adamantium that's in my body."

Bucky's eyes widened a bit. They were a like after all, in some ways. He was kept in a frozen prison when not on missions, he had a metal arm and all of this happened against his will as well. But…to have metal put into your body via needles? Yeah, even he had to admit that was freaky and he had seen some gruesome and freaky stuff throughout his time with HYDRA, but even that was taking it too far.

He gripped her hand slightly in his, "Hey, it's alright. It's over now and you're safe."

Zeryn nodded slightly as she moved her other hand from her leg and whipped her tears away, "I'm sorry. I don't like to get all 'emo' while out in public. You're right, I am…even though I know he's still out there somewhere. But, he made me indestructible, so any attempts to kill me will be proven fruitless." She looked up at him, "And, so are you. You're safe, too."

Bucky looked away for a moment, "I'm not so sure about that one. HYDRA's probably still trying to find me."

"If they are, then I'll help you take them down. After tonight, we're going to head down to New York. You'll live with Steve down there for awhile."

"Will he…this man…really let me stay with him? After all I did to him?"

"If he didn't care, he wouldn't have sent me down here to help him out. He knows that your old self is still in there. It'll take time, but I believe that we can fix that brainwashing. I did warn him that you might not be the same, but he didn't mind. All he wants is his friend back."

Bucky looked down at her hand before looking back at her, "Why do you care so much?"

"Because I care as much about my friends as I do myself. I'm always willing to help out, no matter the costs. Plus, I know that you're not a bad person. You just ended up in the wrong hands and they did some pretty bad things to you. But, deep down, you are a good person."

"Do you really believe that?"

Zeryn smiled lightly. There was something the professor had always told her in times like these. It was simple, but it really made one think. She knew that there were two parts to this question. She would ask him the first part now and the second part later.

"What's telling you that?" She asked him.

Bucky looked at her with a confused look on his face. How in the heck was he suppose to know the answer to that question when he still wasn't fully sure who he was. Was she playing a trick on him? He had a feeling this wasn't suppose to be a trick question…but it seemed to be turning out that way.

"I'll give you time to think about it. It's not as bad as it seems, trust me."

Bucky just nodded slightly. He knew he'd end up forgetting with all the things that were rushing through his head. While he might have had his doubts about her before, he knew full well that he could trust her. As he saw the waitress coming with their food, he asked her one quick question.

"What is my name?"

Zeryn smiled again, "James Barnes. Bucky for short."

"Bucky works for me." He said before the waitress got to their table and began to put the food down as soon as he and Zeryn had removed their hands from the table.

"Oh! Looks good!" Zeryn grabbed a large piece of breaded fish off the bigger plate and put it onto hers. She grabbed some fruit as well, "Now, after we eat, we should be on our way to the Smithsonian Institution before they close up."

"Why?"

"There's a display there that I believe might help clear your mind of some of that brainwashing." Zeryn replied before eating a piece of watermelon.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as they had finished eating, Zeryn lead Bucky out of the restaurant and over to the parking garage. But, of course, she had to stop at the gift shop just before they left to pick up a pair of drumsticks with the Hard Rock Cafe logo on it with the words DC under it. She promised herself that she'd always pick up a pair from the different Hard Rock Cafes that she had visited. The drumsticks were sticking out of her bag a little bit, since they couldn't fit in there all the way. She knew that they would fit well in the side bag and wouldn't have to worry about them falling out.

Once they were in the garage, Zeryn ran over to the elevator and was lucky enough that they were going to be the only two on it. She really didn't feel like kicking anymore butt right now.

Bucky stood close to her, for he wasn't too much of a fan of small places and he had every right to be afraid. While the elevator was large, he still felt confined within it. It reminded him of being trapped in that frozen tube after his missions. He tried his best to hold back his fear. He was hoping that he wouldn't end up freezing in here. He held his breath and released it as soon as the door opened up. He was out of there before Zeryn was. He took a few deep breaths and slowly let them out. Once he composed himself, he went after Zeryn. He wondered what kind of car she drove…or if she was old enough to drive. Well, she must have been because how could she have gotten from New York to DC if she couldn't? Or, could she have been driving illegally? Oh god! He hoped that wasn't the case.

Zeryn walked over to the motorcycle, then pulled the drumsticks out of her bag. She placed them safely inside the side bag before putting her bag in it and closing the bag. She double checked to make sure it was tight enough before pulling the key out of her jacket pocket.

"You ready?" Zeryn asked him as she got onto the motorcycle, "We have four hours before the institution closes up."

Bucky couldn't believe it! He was hoping for something…with four wheels and closed in. He wasn't expecting her to be driving a motorcycle. That looked way to heavy for her to move and operate. She wasn't exactly the kind built for a motorcycle, size and possibly weight wise. Before Zeryn could start up the motorcycle he just had to ask.

"You…can drive legally, right?"

Zeryn looked back at him, "I'm twenty-two. I'm pretty sure I'm a few years above the legal driving age limit. Now, I'll back out, then you can hope on." She started up the bike, then put her sunglasses on before pushing the kickstand up with her foot and slowly pulling out of the parking space. She looked to him, then motioned her head for him to get on.

Bucky wasn't really sure if he should get on, but he had no other choice. He had no idea how far this place was. He wasn't sure if it would be worth walking there or not. He wanted to see this exhibit she was talking about, but, at the same time, he was nervous. He wasn't sure why he was or why he should be. He allowed himself to get onto the motorcycle so he could find out as fast as possible. Right now, he was hoping that this would be a good start to helping him regain his memory.

"Don't be afraid to hold onto me, mainly on the turns." Zeryn called over the loud motor that was echoing all around them.

Within seconds, they were on their way out of garage and to the museum. She remembered seeing motorcycle parking spaces in the parking lot outside of the institution when she drove around the day before to find it. Right now, she was hoping that they would be open and she wouldn't have to park anywhere else, mainly another parking garage. And, she was in luck! Once she had pulled into the parking lot, she pulled right into a space saved for just motorcycles. She put the kickstand down and turned it off. She leaned back on Bucky as she sighed a little.

"Can I just tell you I despise driving in cities and on expressways?" She took her sunglasses off as she closed her eyes.

He didn't think she did a bad job driving from the restaurant to the institution. But, hearing this did make him a bit nervous about riding with her to New York. Maybe he should think about taking a flight there instead. But, now that he thought about it, he had heard that security at the air ports was really tight. He had a feeling that as soon as they saw his metal arm, all hell would break loss. He still needed to keep a low profile for as long as he possibly could until all of this blew over.

Zeryn slowly sat up, then stretched her arms out before getting up, "You ready for this?"

Ready for what? What should he be expecting? Would this be too overwhelming for him? Would he see things that he didn't want to see? He was way too busy trying to quiet his head down that he didn't notice that Zeryn was already off the motorcycle and already had her bag ready. He looked up at her.

"I'm going to let you know now that there will be a screen with pictures and short videos playing on it. If you do feel overwhelmed, just look away and look back when you're ready. I don't want this to be a bad experience for you. I want to help, but I don't want you to feel like you have to take this all in at once."

He waited for a moment before dismounting the motorcycle. Something inside of him was telling him to take it like a man…like a soldier…and to not let any of these emotions run through him. He started at the entrance to the institution, then made his way towards it with Zeryn quickly following behind him. His gut told him he was ready. His mind…not so much.

Once they were inside, Zeryn lead Bucky towards the exhibit. There was quit a few people gathered there looking at all the things that made Captain America so great. Old war posters with him on it, a replica of his uniform and shield and many more. Zeryn inched herself behind the other people to a section of the exhibit that was dedicated to Bucky.

Bucky had glanced at a few of the posters and Captain America's uniform. For some reason they all seemed a bit familiar…but why? Would this next bit help shed some light on this? Soon enough he was about to get his answer as he stood in front of the section which bared his name. Pictures of him and Steve hung on the wall as his uniforms sat behind a display case with one of the guns he'd used leaning against a gun stand. There was a large flat screen TV playing a video of Bucky and Steve not too far from the case. He turned his head to look at the screen.

As the images on the screen played out, the wheels inside his mind began to turn. Slowly, bits and pieces of his past were starting to come back to him. Bit by bit they began to form inside his head. But, it wasn't his whole life that was forming, just his military experiences and his time fighting along side Steve. Now, the bigger question was, how did he meet this man to begin with? He had a feeling that this man would have to confront him at some point and he knew that would be soon because he was willing to have Zeryn drive him down to New York to meet him. But, was he, himself, ready to face the man he tried to kill? And, would the man be ready to face him? Still too many questions to be answered.

He made his way up to the display case and stood in front of it. The uniform was on a black mannequin and was the same height as him. He stood tall as he saw his reflection looking back at him on the glass. He could see the uniform on him even though it was trapped inside. He glanced at the jacket. It was old and a bit tattered in places from it being worn often and probably from being shoved into a bag and from being cleaned too much to keep military standards. But, within the glass, it looked at good as new as if it had never been carried around or worn at all.

Zeryn quickly snapped a picture with her iPhone while Bucky was busy engrossing himself in the uniform. To her, it seemed that everything else was just a blur and that the uniform was the only thing that mattered to him. She sent the picture to Steve before putting her phone into her bag and walking over to him. She stood next to him, "Looks good on you." She said.

"It's old." He looked at the dog tags around the neck of the mannequin.

"That don't make uniforms like that anymore." She looked at his reflection in the glass, "So…how are you holding out?"

Bucky turned his head slightly as he looked back at her reflection, "Can we stay just a bit longer?"

A slight smile came across her face, "We can stay as long as you'd like."

Zeryn laid on her jacket on the grass near the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as Bucky sat next to her listening to some 1940's music on her iPhone that Steve had given her to download onto it. He looked out at the pool as his mind flickered back and forth. The memories were still working their way to him, but he wanted to know more than just about his military service. He wanted to know before all of that. But, right now, all the memories leading up to his fall were being played out…but in a jumbled mess. Everything was going back and forth and back and forth that he didn't know what happened first. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them as he stared blankly at the water.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice two little boys running past on the sidewalk not too far in front of them. One of the boys was dressed as Captain America, only without the helmet, and the other was dressed as Bucky, but in his World War Two uniform.

"Come on, Bucky! Let's go kick some bad guy butt!" The one boy, dressed as Captain America, said to his friend as he held up his shield, which was really a frisbee with a stretchy strap on the back.

"I'm right behind you, Steve!" The other boy said.

'Steve!' Bucky quickly snapped back to reality when he heard that name. He looked around, but, instead, saw the two boys running around near them pretending to attack the Germans and HYDRA. It felt like a small dagger had be driven through his heart. He was hoping it would have been Steve that was there. Instead, it was just two boys playing around dressed as…them! He could understand someone dressing up as Captain America, but…why him? Why would anyone want to be him?

"They're cute, aren't they?"

Bucky jumped slightly when he saw Zeryn sitting up on the grass and watching the boys play. When the heck did she get up? Wasn't she asleep or something? This girl was a mystery, that's for sure.

"I…don't get it. Why would anyone want to dress like…me?" He asked as the boys began to play catch with the frisbee.

"Because, every captain needs a best friend by his side." Zeryn turned and faced him, "Because you were by his side all the time. You promised you'd return to him. And, I'm going to help make that happen. You were a good soldier, but a great man."

"But…all the stuff I did…it wasn't good."

"Someone hurt you." Zeryn moved a bit closer to him, "Someone made you that way, but you're free now. You are a great man, Bucky."

"I don't believe I am."

Zeryn smiled a little now because she knew that she had the opportunity to turn into her professor. She knew it was time to ask him the question again. But, this time, she would help him find his way.

"What's telling you that?"

Bucky looked at her, "I…really have no clue what you're talking about. You asked me before and I still have no idea. I still have so many questions."

Zeryn moved so that she was sitting in front of him. She looked him in the eyes and said, "What's telling you that? Is it this?" She gently put her pointer finger on his forehead, "Or," She removed her finger, then rested her hand over his heart, "this?"

Bucky thought he understood what she was trying to tell him. But, how did he know which one was right? Was it his mind, or his heart? He knew he still needed a little more time to figure it out, but he was hoping that answer wouldn't be difficult.

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out." Zeryn smiled and winked at him before noticing the frisbee landing right by them. She got up and walked over to it and picked it up. She saw the boys running over to them. She kneeled down, so she was close to their height once they came over to her, "Here you are." She smiled as she handed it to them.

"Thank you, ms." The boy dressed as Bucky said to her as he took the frisbee.

"We'll be careful next time." The other boy said.

"It's alright. Just be glad it's not as heavy as Captain America's shield. I don't think anyone would want to be hit by that." Zeryn smiled lightly, "I'm sure that would hurt."

"Have you met him before? Have you held his shield?" The boy dressed as Captain America asked in an excited voice.

Zeryn smiled. She knew she couldn't tell them that she personally knew him, but she would do her best to answer the question, "I may have seen him around, but I can't say that I've met him. I don't think I'd be able to pick up his shield. It seems pretty heavy for little me to pick up."

"Do you think we might get to meet him?" The boy dressed as Bucky asked.

"I'm sure you will." Zeryn moved a bit closer to them and whispered, "I hear he likes to go running when the sun comes up. One day, you might see him running through the capital. I'm sure he wouldn't mind to stop and say 'hello' to a few of his fans."

"Do you believe we might see him out on a run?" The boy dressed as Captain America asked excitedly.

Zeryn smiled, "If you believe it, then it's sure to happen." She held out her hand to the boy dressed as Bucky and he gave the frisbee to her, "Now," She stood up, "go long and kick some HYDRA butt!" She waited for the boys to run a bit of a distance from her before she threw the frisbee to them and watched as the boy dressed as Bucky caught it.

"For America!" The boy dressed as Captain America said proudly as the two of them went back to playing.

Zeryn smiled as she watched the boys for a moment before going back over to Bucky and sitting down next to him.

"You seem to have a way with children." Bucky replied to her as he watched the boys. He was still a bit confused why someone would want to dress like him and look up to him, but he felt honored none the less. At least there were people who recognize that he helped play a big role in Captain America's life.

"There's a girl at the mansion who I normally play with when I'm not busy." Zeryn picked up her phone and went to find a picture of the girl, "She's about eleven and she's really cute. She has a dog named Cookie."

"It's funny because you'd be the last person I'd expect to associate with children."

"If it helps any, before I lost my memory, I was going to college to become an English teacher, so I could go over to Germany and teach English in one of the schools over there." She paused for a moment and looked out at the pool, "Sadly, I don't speak German like I use to, but I wonder how I was able to learn it so quickly? One of my friends at the mansion is German and he's been trying to teach me…only a few words are sticking. I'm still having issues trying to make full sentences."

"Practice, I suppose."

"I'm sure you're right. While it would be nice to learn to speak the language again, my brain can't take it. Guess it took a really big beating when I lost my memory. Oh well. I do read books, sometimes, that have German it them, but I always have a dictionary on hand, just in case." She looked back down at her phone and kept looking through her pictures until she found one of the little girl. She showed it to him.

Bucky turned his glance to the screen. Apparently, some mutants weren't human looking like Zeryn, or couldn't blend in well with human society without being noticed. And, the picture of the girl proved it to him.

The girl in the picture was hugging Cookie and sitting by a pond near the mansion, but she wasn't a normal looking girl. She had a few…wolf related features to her…her 'mutations'. Not only did she have yellow eyes and brown hair, but she had matching brown ears and a brown tail that were covered in fur. Her hands and feet were paws and they were covered in fur as well. Her legs were rather wolf like and when she stood up, she looked like a dog standing on its back legs waiting for a treat…or trying to get something off of the counter it wasn't suppose to have.

"She's cute." Bucky replied as he watched Zeryn X out of the picture and laid the phone back down, so they could keep listening to the music.

"There's a few other mutants at the school who have mutations kind of like hers. One guy looks like a beast with blue fur and the other is a blue elf with a tail." She was aware that Kurt was a demon, but because he was religious she called him an elf. But, even when she first met him, she thought he was a blue elf with a tail, "It just stinks that they have to go incognito whenever they go out in public because the world doesn't like us…doesn't like any mutants for that matter."

"Why?" He felt like that was a stupid thing to ask, but he had never run into a mutant before until now. He would just do his missions for HYDRA and that was that. As far as he knew, HYDRA didn't know about mutants and could care less if such people existed. But, he did question, if HYDRA did know about mutants, would they take the mutants and try and do harm to them? Or, would they use them to be weapons like the way they used him?

Zeryn waited for a moment to speak. She knew that there weren't a lot of people around, so she felt that she could speak freely to him without anyone hearing them. She faced him.

"There are two kinds of mutants in this world; the ones that follow Professor Charles Xavier, Professor X, and the ones that follow Erik Lehnsherr, Magneto. Professor X believes that everything can be settled with peace. If there's peace, then the world can learn to not fear us and know that we mean no harm and that we can help them whenever they are in danger. But, Magneto believes that if something can't be solved right away, then violence is the answer. Kill whoever doesn't believe…whoever hates mutants. Make the world see that mutants are superior to the humans. Because of mutants like Magneto, the world fears us and wants us all dead, whether we feel the way he does or not. It doesn't matter to them. If we are different, we should be hated, ignored and killed…destroyed by any means. Our mission is to prove the world wrong, but we can't do that with mutants like Magneto running around."

She laid down on her jacket again and rested her head on it. She sighed a little, "But, there are mutants who don't believe in both and just do what they please. The mutant who put the metal in me doesn't have a side. He just likes to cause chaos. My boyfriend, on the other hand, he's more of a wanderer. Yes, he does live at the mansion with us, but he travels back to his home in New Orleans. Before he came to the mansion, he would travel from place to place just living wherever, playing poker to make a living. His mindset is like yours…kind of. He's a thief. He was brought up by thieves, so he believes that he's not a hero, even though he's done heroic actions before."

This was a lot of information for Bucky to take in. If HYDRA was able to get ahold of the bad mutants…he could only image what would happen and how the world would see them. Yes, the world saw them as bad and a threat, but would they see them as more and go on a massive killing spree just to be rid of the good ones? He might not have known Zeryn for long…less than twenty-four hours…but he would go on massive man hunt if someone were to kill her. He didn't see her as a threat. While she had opened herself up to him right away, saying that she was a mutant, he felt that must have been because he wasn't sure what a mutant was. She could have just said she was with the X-Men and left it at that, but she went a bit deeper than that. Yes, she did have S.H.I.E.L.D. connections, but that didn't mean that she worked for them. Maybe by saying she was a mutant was her way of telling him that she wasn't a treat to him and that she wasn't on a mission for either of these organizations. She was good and seemed to have been good before she lost her memory. Now, she was just a poor mutant trapped in a world of hate and fear. He wasn't sure what her life was like before she lost her memory, but he had to wonder if it was a peaceful life without the worry of someone coming to kill her.

Before he could speak to her, he saw the frisbee coming at them again. He quickly got to his knees and reached up with his metal arm and grabbed the frisbee. For some reason, he was expecting it to be just like the shield Steve had thrown at him on the roof top, but it wasn't. It was a toy meant for kids, and adults too, if they were into that kind of thing. He brought his arm down and looked at it for a moment. It was made of plastic and reflected light slightly, mainly between the strips on the shield and the outlines of the star. He looked up to see the boys coming over to him, but then stopped. They wanted him to throw it their way. He waited a second before standing up. He knew his arm was powerful, but he had to be careful not to throw it too hard or too far. He prepared himself, then threw the frisbee to the boys. He watched as the boy dressed as him caught it.

"Thank you, mister!" The boy called to him, then ran off with the other boy as their parents had called their names. It was time for them to head on home.

"See. Good soldier, but a great man." Zeryn said to him as she reached for her phone and turned off the music. She put her phone into her bag, then sat up. She grabbed her bag and jacket before getting to her feet, "Are you hungry for dinner, or do you just want to get dessert? I'm still kind of full from lunch. That was a lot of fish. I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm fine with anything." Bucky replied to her. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps he was a good man after all. But, he still needed a few more things to help jog his memory before he could make a final decision. He walked next to her as they headed to a near by pizza restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5

The time was a little after eight at night when Bucky fell flat on his face on one of the two beds in the hotel room. He didn't mind sharing a dessert with Zeryn, but he had no idea that she had planned to introduce him to the wonders of a cookie pizza. A large, warm chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Zeryn did describe to him what it would be like, but he didn't realize how big it was going to be. They ate the whole thing. And, now, his stomach was making him pay for it. This was his first time, in a rather long time, having a sugary treat. It was going to take some time for his stomach to adjust to all these foods. UGH! Even thinking about food was making his stomach hurt. Right now, all he wanted to do was rest, but he wasn't going to be resting in tight pants! He would have to change…if his body would allow him to get up and do so. He turned his head slightly when he thought he heard something coming from the living room.

Zeryn had asked him if he'd like to room with her for the night, which he agreed to. After he had collected this things, which was just a bag with a few spare clothes in it, he joined her in her hotel room, which was a suite. Not only was there a nice living room with a fold out couch, but there was a small kitchen, nice sized bathroom and a bedroom with two beds and a nice sized TV. He remembered her mentioning to him that whenever one of the mutants at the mansion needed to stay at a hotel, the professor would always hook them up with a suite, whether they liked it or not, to make them feel more at home, since their dorm rooms at the mansion were similar to small apartments.

Bucky forced himself up and quickly changed into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt before looking out of the bedroom to see what was going on. While there was a very short hallway leading to the living room, he could see Zeryn's shadow moving on the wall. It looked like she was practicing martial arts moves. He quietly made his way to the end of the hall, then peeked in and saw she was practicing. She was in a black sports bra and yoga pants. He noticed that there was a large tribal tattoo on her back of a wolf's head. He watched her carefully. Her moves were beautiful and graceful, but somehow seemed deadly and dangerous. He studied them noticing that some of the moves she was doing were what he was taught during his time at HYDRA, but some of the others seemed like military defense moves. He wondered where she learned such movements. She looked almost like she could be a deadly weapon. He knew about her senses being strong, but what was her other power? What was this girl capable of? What could she do with those skills and who could she take down? He was interested in finding out.

He made his way over to her, as if he were about to break into a house and kill someone, ready to fight. He was prepared to attack and as soon as he did, she had spun around and blocked him. He wasn't expecting her to block him so quickly. He knew he could move around in silence. He needed that when on a mission. He was known as a ghost. He'd go just as quickly as he'd come and he could do his job with incredible silence.

"Bet you weren't expecting that." Zeryn said as she stepped back a bit from him, "Wanna have some fun with this?"

Fun? Since when was training suppose to be fun? Wasn't it suppose to be serious? Wasn't doing any kind of martial arts suppose to be taken seriously or as a discipline? What the heck were they teaching these kids about martial arts nowadays?!

But, he was still interested to see how she'd match up to him, so he agreed on the battle. After all, it had been awhile since he'd had a good training session, and, after having that cookie with ice cream, he kind of needed it…badly!

She smiled lightly, "I'm game for anything, so don't hold back. Give me what you got. And, remember, treat this as if it were real life. What would you do if you were in this situation."

Really? She wanted him to go all out on her with his abilities? Right now, he was lucky he didn't have his gun on him, or he'd probably end up using it. He did have his knife with him and it was hiding on a small belt on his lower leg under his pants. Since he'd been hiding out, he felt that he needed some kind of weapon on him, so he kept his knife. Should he use the knife on her? He didn't want to cause her harm, but she said that she was game for anything and go all out on her, so he figured he'd pull it out when he got the chance and see how she would react to it.

She readied herself in her normal stance, "I'm ready when you are."

He didn't hold back and quickly made the first move, but she was quick to block and began a counter attack. Her moves were swift and quick that even he was having a bit of a hard time blocking her moves. She was really good, he had to give her credit for that one, but he noticed that she looked like she was having fun with this and he couldn't understand why.

Several minutes had passed by and Zeryn could see that Bucky needed a break, so she quickly backed off, then jumped up onto the couch and just bounced on it slightly on the balls of her feet to keep her heart rate up a bit. Bucky, on the other hand, leaned against the wall and slide down it. He should be use to all of this hard work, but she was really giving him a run for his money. He had no clue that she would be this good or this intense with it. He liked it and he knew that he would be sleeping really well tonight after this workout.

"How are you holding up?" Zeryn asked as him as she kept bouncing on the couch.

He had no answer right now. His body was telling him enough, but his brain told him to keep going. He really wanted to try the knife on her. He wanted to see how she would react. After all, she did mention about treating this like it was a real life situation. What if she was face to face with someone with a knife. He would wait for the right moment before pulling it out.

"I need a moment." He replied to her.

"That's fine." She said as she jumped off the couch, then went back to doing a few moves.

When he saw her back was turned to him, he removed the knife from the belt, then carefully stood up. His muscles ached and he could have sworn he felt something pull, but he was still in the mood to fight with her. He came towards her and was about to 'attack' when she spun around, reached her hand out and grabbed the blade of the knife. He could have sworn his heart skipped several beats…or maybe even stopped when he saw what she did. What made him freak out even more was the fact that he saw blood starting to run down the blade and towards the handle. He meant for her to block it with her arm, not to grab it. The last thing he wanted to do was to harm her, even if they were doing some pretty intense martial arts. Even though she was waring him out from all the fighting, he noticed that she never hurt him. Maybe a bruise or two, but nothing that would send him to the hospital. It was as if she was the teacher and he was the student. Only now…she was the one hurt out of the two of them.

She kept her hand on the blade as she looked at him, "Nice little trick you pulled there." She saw him let go of the knife. Once it was free in her hand, she grabbed the handle with the other, then slowly opened up her hand and removed the knife, "Wasn't really expecting that, but…this is a really sick knife! I've never seen anything like it before."

What the…why wasn't she freaking out?! Her hand was cut in two places on the palm, for crying out loud! Why wasn't she worried about that and obsessing over the knife that had dug its sharp ridges into her palm? Bucky soon got his answer when he saw the blood flowing from the wounds was starting to stop and the wounds were…closing up! Almost as quickly as the blood stopped, the wounds were closing up just as quick. Soon, all the wounds were gone and nothing was left behind. So…there was a reason for her grabbing the knife like she did because she could heal herself. Alright, so this girl not only had good senses, but she had healing factors as well. What else could this girl have?

"I'll go clean up my hand and the knife for you. You take a rest, you deserve it." She made her way to the bathroom.

Bucky went over to the couch and laid down on it as he stared up at the ceiling. He was a train assassin for crying out loud! He shouldn't be having all these emotions flowing through his body, mainly over a girl that he didn't know very well. But, his 1930/1940's self seemed to be kicking in on how to treat a lady. Yes, it was the modern day, he got that, but just something inside of him told him that you're not suppose to fight with a lady and you're really not suppose to hurt them, mainly with a knife or gun. God! What the heck was wrong with him? She said to go for it and he did. He gave her his all…or did he? Did he possibly back down a bit when they were fighting just so she could have the upper hand in this? Too many thoughts and too many emotions.

Zeryn came back out a few moments later and went over to him. She handed the knife to him, "I really like this thing. Blends in nicely with dark clothes."

When he took the knife from her, he saw an Aquarius tattoo on her wrist. He didn't see it before because of how quickly she was moving. Did she have any other tattoos? If so, then what were they?

"I'm not going to lie, but you really scared me there." He replied to her as he put the knife back, then sat up to allow her to sit next to him, "My hope was for you to block it, not grab the blade."

"It's instinct, really." Zeryn sat down next to him, "There are people out there that would probably grab it, even if they know it'll cut them. When faced with a treat, people don't tend to think. They just go for it. Me, on the other hand, I knew you were coming and I wanted to see what you would do when I grabbed it."

"You made my heart skip a beat or two. I really thought I hurt you."

"I wouldn't be stupid enough to grab the blade if I knew I couldn't heal myself. If anything, I would have held my arm up to block it or just kicked it out of your hand. Before I lost my memory, I had all my belts in martial arts, which I swiped from my room at my parents' house and have hanging up in my room at the mansion. You see, when I got there, the professor had started up a self defense class in order to teach us to fight without using our powers. I mean, why fight someone who's unarmed with your powers? That was the professor's motive for the class. He randomly paired us up and I got stick with the best fighter in the class. Everyone thought he'd take me down, but they were wrong. I was able to take him down. While I had no clue what I was doing, I think my body was doing all the work…as if it were trying to remind me what to do. As if it remembered all the fight moves I had learned while doing martial arts. I guess it was instinct. We teach the class together and we can go on and on without a break, if we want to."

"A lot of those moves you were doing weren't just martial arts moves. They are more intense and more deadly. I should know because I was taught some of those moves at HYDRA."

"You are right, they weren't. Some of the moves I learned while watching the others in class. Each of them had been through some kind of hell in their lives. Their moves are based on how they were able to survive. The thing most people don't understand is that martial arts can be used for vengeance, you just have to know how to control your emotions so that you don't lose or get yourself beat to death. Focus and control and your pretty much a deadly weapon, even while using self defense moves. As Logan, the guy I teach with, always tells me, 'What would you do if this were a real life situation?' I treat all my fights as such, even when I do it just for fun. If I don't stay focused, then I'm sure to mess up."

"I will admit, you did knock me around a bit, something I'm not use to. Even Steve couldn't seem to keep up with me, no matter how hard he tried."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. trains differently than us. But, like I said before, everyone has their own unique fighting style. They fight they way they do in order to survive. Their fighting style is based on where they came from and what they had to over come to be where they are today."

"Besides your senses and healing…what other powers do you have?" He knew that he would find out at some point, but he wanted to know now. While they were fighting, he noticed that she was pretty strong, and he couldn't forget that when he touched the top of her hand it felt a little different as if there was something not human about it.

Zeryn held up her right hand and balled it into a fist. Within moments three metal claws came out, but they were a bit shorter than Logan's. On the first claw, between her pointer and middle finger, was a nic. She moved her hand over to Bucky, so he could have a better look, "Be careful, they're sharp…mainly this one." She pointed to the claw with the nic on it.

Bucky wasn't expecting her other power to be claws. It was a surprise, none the less. But, the only thing running through his head right now was to make sure never to make her mad. He's hate to be at the other end of those. He reached out and carefully ran a finger on the top one of the claws. It was smooth, but he could only imagine what kind of damage such a thing could cause. He moved his finger back down the claw and to her hand. He felt the top of her hand. It felt…normal now without her claws within her skin. The only thing he could feel now were her veins.

Zeryn jumped slightly when she heard her phone go off. She reached over to the coffee table, which she had moved between the arm rest of the couch and the wall, and grabbed it, "Hello, professor." She said as she watched Bucky, who was still examining her claws, "Yes, everything's going well. If anything, we should be in the state by tomorrow, as long as we don't have any distractions…Really?! You're serious, right?…But, professor, I hate storms!"

Bucky looked up at her. Was it possible that there was going to be an obstacle in their way going back to New York? There must have been because he could tell that she was starting to get nervous and a bit shaky. Guess he was about to learn something new about her, she disliked storms. For a strong girl like herself, it would seem kind of silly for her to dislike them, but, he thought about her senses and wondered if they had anything to do with it.

"You really don't think we'll make it back by the time it hits?" Zeryn pulled her kneels to her chest as she put her hand on her leg and pulled them closer to her, gripping her pant leg tightly, "Will we even be able to make it into New York? I really don't want to have to make us stay here any longer…What other option is there? You know it would be best if we get out of the state, mainly DC, though…" Her eyes widened slightly as she gripped her pant leg tighter, "Oh no! I will not consider that an option! No, I don't want to stay in a hotel again, but…I know, but I really don't want to…You know what happened last time I went there! I can't possible…Yeah, you do have a point there. Alright, I'll give it some thought….Alright, we'll see you guys in two days…Have a good night. Bye." She hung up, then put her head onto her knees as she let out a long, angry sigh.

We? Did she just say 'we'? Did that mean that he would be going to this mansion place with her as well? Weren't they suppose to be going to New York City? Maybe it was just going to be a rest stop on the way to the city. He shrugged it off, thinking that it might be just a rest stop. But, he was interested in meeting that little girl and her dog. He wasn't really sure why, but he was. She looked really cute and he wouldn't mind giving the dog a hug…or two.

"So…it sounds like we might be sidetracked a bit?" He asked her as he watched her claws retract back into her fist.

"The professor said we're going to run into a storm once we reach New York. If we get up early enough, we should make it a good portion of the way to the mansion before it hits. But, we'll have to make a stop and continue the next day. My parents' house is on the way to the mansion. They're out of town and let me know that I can stay there, if I wish. I don't want to stay in a hotel again, so that's going to be our best bet. However…I'm a bit worried about staying there."

"Why should you be worried? If we have no other option, then we should stay there. We shouldn't be driving around in the storm on a motorcycle. It's dangerous…ok, so I've done some dangerous stuff when HYDRA was using me, I'll admit that, but we really shouldn't be out on a motorcycle."

"I realize that. However, what worries me is that the guy who I dated before I lost my memory likes to stay at my parents' house. UGH! He's such a royal thorn in my side! Every time I visit my parents, he's there! He keeps trying to get me to remember who I am, but I don't!" She gripped her pant leg tighter as she balled her free hand into a fist, "I swear if he's there, I'm going to drop kick his ass out of a window!"

"Um…that seems kind of strange. Doesn't he have his own home?"

"Yes, he does, but I think my parents just like him too much. I was at the mansion for over a year before I went to see the psychic to figure out my past. That whole time he'd go over after his classes at college and wait with them. They never gave up hope that I was dead, but…I'm not who I use to be. They don't understand that my memory of the past is gone. They overwhelm me to the point where I get upset. I get angry…I cry. I hate it! But him…he's the worst! He forces this stuff into my brain! I swear I could just impale him!"

Within seconds of her saying that, Bucky found himself embracing her in a hug. He wasn't really sure why, but something inside of him told him to comfort a girl when she was angry or sad. Maybe this was a side of him he never knew. Perhaps he was kind to ladies in his past life, but he felt there was someone else who he'd comforted as well. Maybe that person was Steve. He could feel a few memories of Steve starting to turn in his head, before he had gone off to war.

Zeryn was a bit taken back by his sudden hug. She wasn't fully expecting his emotions to bubble up so soon, but she was glad that the exhibit and the emotions were a sign that he was starting to return to his old self. She knew that he wouldn't be the same as he was back then, but she was just happy that someone didn't have to suffer the same fate as her when it came to memory issues. The one thing she had to give HYDRA credit for was not whipping his memory completely, but just brainwashing him. They could have gave him permeant memory loss, but they failed at that. All she could do was grin inside knowing that Steve and herself were able to break HYDRA's brainwashing. Now, the next step was to make sure that HYDRA couldn't get their hands on him again…or anyone else for that matter.

She hugged him back as she rested her forehead on his left shoulder. The metal of his arm felt a little cold against her forehead, but she didn't care. Right now, all she needed was a hug and some reassurance and she didn't care who she got it from. Whenever Remy wasn't around to comfort her, due to him going away on a trip, she always had someone at the mansion who would help her out. While there were times when some of those at the mansion were at each others throats, they were still a family and cared deeply for one another because without each other they couldn't fight the battles they needed to in order to help save the world and prove that mutants were not bad, but were really good.

"Don't worry about him." Bucky said to her as he kept hugging her, "If he's there, then we can kick him out. No reason for you to get upset about something that hasn't happened yet. Just relax."

"I'm trying, believe me, I am." Zeryn let out a soft sigh, "Maybe we should think about heading off to bed for the night. I'll make sure breakfast is up here before you get up in the morning, then we can head out after we eat. I just want to get as far as humanly possible into New York before we hit the storm." She shivered slightly, "I hate storms! If it wasn't for my hearing, then they wouldn't be as bad. The thunder's just…so loud and lasts way too long for my liking."

"Do your parents have a basement in their house? Maybe we could hide out down there."

"You know…I never bothered to look. We should do that when we get there."

"Sounds like we have a mission on our hands! Now, let's head off to bed." He let go of her, then stood up. He held his hand out for her.

"It's alright, I'll sleep on the couch. I'm use to it." She replied.

"There's two beds in there. You're not sleeping on the couch. I don't care if you said that it pulls out into a bed or not. You're going to rest on a nice, comfortable bed and that's final!"

"I don't mean to fall asleep on the couch. I just start reading…then fall asleep and wake up a few hours later too lazy and tired to care, so I just stay on the couch. It's ok. I really don't mind. I don't want to bother you when I wake up in the morning and order room service."

"Then I'll sleep on the couch and you can sleep on one of the beds."

"If anything, you need to sleep on the bed more than I do. I really don't mind staying out here."

Bucky crossed his arms, "Are you being stubborn?"

Zeryn slid down a little as she picked up her phone and held onto it, "Maybe." She turned her head slightly to see him reaching for her, "No! Don't you dare pick me up!" She went to get up and run, but he had snatched her up, "NO! Not fair!"

"And?" He carried her into the bedroom, then put her down on the bed closest to the window. He went over to the other one, then laid down on it.

"Alright, I'll stay. But, I'm going to put the music on my phone on. I can't sleep in silence." She already had her phone charger plugged into the wall by the nightstand, so she got up and went over to the charger and plugged her phone in, "Don't worry, the music will be pretty low. You might not even hear it."

"Background noise is better than silence." He said, then watched her go over to one of the motorcycle bags and pull out a shirt, "Going somewhere?"

"Bathroom. Plus, I need to change into a shirt. I can't sleep in my sports bra…it hurts my chest when I sleep in it, for some reason. Makes me feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. You can head off to bed, if you'd like. I'll turn the lights out when I come back in. Just promise me that if you have a bad dream that you'll wake me up to talk about it, if you'd like. I really don't mind. PTSD can be a pretty touchy thing, but I'm always willing to listen."

"PTSD?"

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mostly common in soldiers returning home from battle. I can only imagine what kind of dreams you'd have after all those experiences you've had. I had a bit of that when I first came to the mansion, but they've gone away since then…though I do have a few of those dreams from time to time, but I don't let them bother me." She walked over to the door, then paused when she heard him speak.

"Then promise me the same thing, that if you have a bad dream, you'll wake me up and tell me about it."

"I will. Have a good night." She headed over to the bathroom and flipped on the light before closing the door.

He watched for several moments before staring up at the ceiling. At this point, he was too tired to cover himself up in the blankets, so he just closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take over his body, which happened rather quickly. And, soon, his dreams would take him far away from this world and to a not so happy one.

How is it possible for a dream to start out so good, but end so horribly? That's the exact dream that ran through Bucky's mind. He began to toss and turn in the bed as his dream played out starting with him caring for a sick Steve. He had given him some soup and was entertaining him with a song he always enjoyed singing to Steve. But, all of that quickly faded away as he found himself in a military uniform inside a wear house that was burning down. Steve was in a military uniform as well and on the other side of the building with no way out. Steve was yelling at him to go, but he kept telling Steve that he wasn't going anywhere without him. The floor between them had caved in and there was fire burning straight out of it. It looked like the gateway to Hell. Steve kept assuring him that he'd be fine and to get out with the others, but he refused to go until Steve was safely by his side. Steve had no choice, but to jump over the fire. He stepped back, then ran towards the fire and jumped, but…his jump was too short and he fell into the fire. He yelled at the top his lungs and ran after his friend. As he was about to jump into the fire, with hopes that the fire hadn't spread too far down below, he was grabbed by someone and pulled away. He turned to see it was one of HYDRA's agents. He struggled and fought with the agent, but it was no use. He had no weapon on him to kill or mortally wound the man. The burning wear house soon faded away as he found himself within the tube ready to be frozen for another mission. He reached his hand up to attempt to push the door open, but, within seconds, his body had froze.

It was then that he woke up to a racing heart and to himself mumbling random numbers. The mumbling stopped as he quickly sat up and took a few deep breaths. The room was silent. He knew that Zeryn had turned the music on because he remembered hearing a song when he woke up slightly during the night before passing out again. After he took one last deep breath, he was about to lay back down until he heard a strange sound. A sound that sounded like wind blowing through an abandon, haunted place. He froze before hearing a voice. It was coming from the phone. It was a hidden track on the band Aiden's album Nightmare Anatomy. The track had no title, but one could only imagine what it would be called for it started with the word nightmare. He stayed still as he listened to the words, which were only spoken out.

"Nightmare, vivid life like terrifying dreams and commonly the dreamer is attacked. Chased for the light by the unknown during which the pulse increases, blood pumps, temperature rises."

More spooky and haunting sounds began to play in the background as the singer kept on speaking. It was enough to keep Bucky frozen on the bed and to keep the shivers going up and down his spin.

"The episode is common with adults and children alike. Following traumatic events such as death and demise. Terror cases require treatment and some go through a fear of all dreams. A subconscious mind, in a dark room, in which images are developed caused by death in real life. The conscious mind reviews it, the subconscious mind can usually event it before it takes place, reflectively, without knowing. Anger, lust, jealousy, hatred, even desire to hurt others. Emotions storm to sudden impressions giving birth to tendencies, to turning character, posing a threat. For deranged individuals, every violent crime has lurked in us since the beginning. As we look to meet the light of a new day,"

All the background sounds stopped and the singer finished with, "like in a nightmare." The iPhone quickly shuffled to 'Drive' by The Cars as Bucky sat dead stiff staring into the darkness in front of him. His body broke into a cold sweat as his heart pounded as if it were about to fly out of his chest. Not only did he have one of the worst dreams ever, even though he had had a few after pulling Steve from the water and leaving him on the shore, but he just had to hear a song…at least that's what he thought it was…to sum up these things called nightmares. He brought his hands up to his face and moved his knees to his chest as he rested his elbows on them. What the heck was he crying for? Soldiers…assassins…no soldiers don't cry. It was just a dream and it couldn't bring any harm to him. Steve was ok and so was he. But, why was he crying? Because most of that nightmare was memories, while other things were caused by his brain, twisting and playing with those memories. Steve did make that jump and HYDRA didn't take him until after he fell off the train. But, why was his brain doing this to him? Why was it twisting his memories? Maybe it was PTSD that was the root cause of all of this.

He turned his head and saw that Zeryn was sleeping peacefully on the other bed. He knew that he couldn't wake her up from her sleep even though he had promised he would if he had a bad dream, and this, for sure, was a bad dream…a nightmare. But, he just couldn't bare to wake her from her sleep. He laid back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for at least an hour until his body forced him back to sleep as the song 'Silent Running' by Mike + the Mechanics helped to ease him to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Zeryn had gotten herself up around six in the morning. She felt that was too early for her, but she didn't care. All she wanted was for them to get into New York as quick as possible before the storm hit and forced them to have to camp out at her parents' house until the next day. Within the hour, she had showed, changed and ordered room service and she did it all without waking up Bucky, who was dead asleep in the bedroom. She sat on the couch in the living room and read her book while waiting for room service to come. She had left her phone in her room, so that Bucky would have something to listen to while he slept. She had the device from S.H.I.E.L.D. next to her and had been using it to communicate with both Clint and Steve, which she had requested a favor from Clint and was hoping that he'd be able to make it happen. She looked up from her book when she heard a knocking at the door. She laid the book down, then went over to the door and answered it. She paid the lady who brought up the food, then brought the cart in. She quickly set up breakfast for them, then went into the bedroom to wake up Bucky.

She looked at him for a moment before going over to him and tapping him on the shoulder, "Bucky." She whispered to him, "Breakfast is ready. Time to wake up."

Bucky groaned slightly as he opened up his eyes and waited for them to adjust. He looked over at her to see that she was turning off the music, "It's too fucking early to get up."

"The sooner we leave here, the better. You can clean up after we eat, so I can get the bags packed. We have a four hour plus journey ahead of us…unless we get sidetracked by the storm…which, I hope we don't." She walked back to his bed, then held her hand out for him, "I hope you're hungry. I think I ordered a bit too much."

He shrugged slightly as he took her hand and pulled himself up, then stood up, "If we're not going to be eating for awhile, then this will do."

"We'll have to make a pit stop at some point to get gas, but I'm really hoping the weather will be nice and allow us to make it to the mansion." She lead him out of the bedroom and into the living room, so they could eat, then begin their journey.

Zeryn was able to get all of her stuff in the two side bags while getting Bucky's few items into the tail bag. She convinced him to leave his knife in the bag just in case something happened while they were on the road. She didn't need the police to be called on them just because someone noticed that they had a knife on them. After checking out, she lead him to the parking garage and over to the motorcycle. She strapped the side bags on while Bucky tried to figure out how to strap down the tail bag, which he failed at. She kindly showed him how to strap it down, then got onto the motorcycle.

"While we're on the road, until we cross over into New York, keep your eyes on the sky and around us. I don't need HYDRA coming after us. If you see them, let me know." She said while putting her sunglasses on, then starting up the motorcycle, "Hop on."

Bucky climbed on behind her, then put his arms around his waist as she backed out of the spot and drove out of the garage. Soon, they were in the sunlight and on their way out of DC and to New York.

All the way to the expressway, Bucky kept a close eye on all the vehicles that want past them and that were around them. He kept his eye to the sky, but only saw traffic helicopters flying overhead. He began to feel that HYDRA wasn't really worried about capturing him again. If anything, they were trying to go undercover to make sure that nothing would happen to them. But, he was aware that they couldn't hide forever and they would be taken down. He hoped that he'd be the one to take them down. He still had a lot of anger burning within him that they had caused. He knew the anger wouldn't settle until he was able to get revenge. But, for now, he just wanted to focus on the scenery around them for it had chanced as soon as they were on the expressway. All the tall skyscrapers had vanished and now it was just houses and other businesses. He leaned forward slightly and rested his chin on Zeryn's shoulder. He closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. The air out here was different from that of the city. It was much cleaner and it was making him tired. He knew that he'd have to force himself to stay awake because he could only imagine what would happen if he did fall asleep. He turned his head to the side slightly and noticed that they were now out in the country, something he'd never seen before. Corn fields, farms, farm animals running around in the pastures, train tracks, trees. Right now, he felt at peace and…he liked it.

"Thank you, my friend." He whispered to her as he kept watching the scenery go by. While the engine of the motorcycle drowned out his voice to him, he knew that Zeryn was able to hear him. He looked at the side mirror and saw her smiling at him. He smiled back as he raised his head up and kept admiring the scenery around him. Now, he was free. He was free from HYDRA and he was free from the place where he had beat up his friend…even almost killed him. He felt very much at peace with himself right now and he felt that he was ready to meet Steve. But, was Steve ready to meet him? He would find out soon enough.

Three hours into the trip, they had crossed the state board and drove for another twenty-eight minutes until Zeryn had to pull over to get gas. While the motorcycle filled up, she checked her iPhone and saw that the storm was about an hour away. They wouldn't make it to the mansion on time, which meant that they'd be staying at her parents' house. She was dreading the idea, but they had no choice. It was either that or a hotel and she didn't want to stay in a hotel again.

They were in luck that her parents didn't live that far away, so as soon as the motorcycle was filled up, they began on their journey away from the expressway and into the country. They passed a few small towns along the way, but soon reached a larger town. She drove through it, then drove ten minutes into a forest area and up to a large gate that was blocking the driveway. On the other side of the gate was a long driveway leading up to…a mansion. A large three story mansion. She put the kick stand down, then walked up to the gate. She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the gate. She quickly went over to the motorcycle and got it safely to the other side before driving up to the mansion and parking under the long awning that stretched out to a bit of grass that displayed a wonderful marble fountain. She pulled the motorcycle close to the house before turning it off. She dismounted and went over to the large doors and unlocked them. She opened them up, then turned on the light, which lit up a long hallway and a set of stairs leading to the second floor.

Bucky was in shock. No way had he ever imagined that she lived in a mansion before she lost her memory. How rich was her family anyways? The mansion looked like it costed millions of dollars! He stumbled off the motorcycle slightly before helping her take the bags off and bringing them inside. The inside was equally impressive to him. He turned his head slightly as he watched her close the doors and lock them.

"This is news to me." He said as he followed her into the large family room with white carpet, matching white leather furniture, a fire place and a few book cases, "Why didn't you mention your parents lived in a mansion?"

"I don't like to talk about it." Zeryn walked over to the couch, then sat down on it, "While I was rich, I never dressed like it, but my parents didn't care. I was a good person and a great student. As long as I didn't go on some kind of crazy rebellion, they didn't care."

"Just be yourself, right?" Bucky sat down next to her.

"Right." She snuggled up on the couch, then looked at her phone, "It's only after one. It feels so much later than that."

"Well…um…" He looked out the window behind them and saw the dark clouds were rolling in, and fast, "…that's storm's on a roll. It is pretty dark out there. I can see why you'd think it'd be later than it is."

"I think we should hunt down the basement. There has to be one in here. If we're lucky, it'll be a finished basement and we can hide out down there until all of this passes." She stood up, then walked over to where they left the bags, which was by the front door.

"Will the motorcycle be alright outside?" He asked while standing up and following after her.

"Sadly, I don't have a garage door opener for the garage or a key to get into the side door. It's under the awning and it's up against the house, so it'll be alright." Zeryn picked up the two side bags, then looked down the hall, "Ok…I hope this will be easy."

"You would think they'd be nice enough to at least give you something to the garage, so you can park in there." Bucky picked up the tail bag.

"I never stay long enough to park in the garage." She began walking down the long hallway towards a large sliding glass door at the end.

The staircase was to her right and on her left was a doorway leading to the dinning room and another one leading to a living room that was a bit similar to the family room, but the color within was different and, instead of book shelves, there was a large flat screen TV and surround sound. Once they reached the end of the hallway, she turned to her right and saw a small hallway under the staircase that lead to the large kitchen. She noticed right under the stairs was a door. She put one of the bags down, then opened up the door and flipped the light switch on. Carpeted stairs laid downstairs.

"Think this might be it?" Bucky asked as he looked down the staircase.

"We'll see." She allowed him to go down first before following after him. She grabbed the other bag and rested it on the top step before closing the door behind them. She picked up the bag and went down the stairs. She paused when she noticed Bucky staring in awe at the basement around him. She peeked around the corner, "Um…wow!"

Before them was a very large, finished basement. The floor was all carpet and the furniture was all leather. There were two couches and each had pillows and blankets on them. There were four leather chairs that surrounded a fancy, wooden coffee table. There was a bar with a refrigerator next to it. Against the wall was a large, flat screen TV with surround sound. There was a pool table, pingpong table, card table and dart board. Against the wall under the stairs was a full bathroom and across the way against the other wall were two full bedrooms.

"Holy…shit!" Bucky slowly moved forward taking in the surroundings around him, "How rich are your parents?!"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Zeryn walked over to one of the couches and put her bags down, "Kind of chilly down here, though."

Bucky went over to one of the bedrooms and opened up the door to have a look inside, "Shit! There's a huge bed in here and a TV! Man! Your parents really know how to impress guests!"

"You should see the second and third floors. Nothing but bathrooms and bedrooms." Of course, she was lying a little because she knew of a special room on the third floor that held several family secrets. She sat down on the couch, then got herself all snuggled in. She grabbed one of the blankets and covered herself up.

"What would you do with all those bedrooms? Do you really have that much family?" Bucky walked out of the bedroom and went over to her. He sat down on the floor in front of her.

"Heck if I know. I'm never here when they have parties. I decide not to come. I don't need anymore stress in my life. Being at the mansion causes enough stress on me. Taking classes, teaching a class, having neighbors that won't shut up when they steal each other's clothes." She pulled the blanket over her head, "The last thing I need is to be with family overwhelming the shit out of me."

"You should be lucky that you have family, though. Steve and I were orphans." Wait? How did he remember that? Was his memory really starting to come back to him? He smiled lightly knowing that things were starting to come together. It was taking time, but it was a very good start and a great sign that he was well on his way to being his old self…kind of, anyways, "I mean, we did have each other, but we came from different families."

Zeryn peeked out at him. She was happy that Bucky's memories were starting to come back to him. She knew Steve would be even happier. She pulled the blanket all the way away from her face, "You're very lucky to have someone like Steve with you." She smiled, "He really cares for you, you know. I'm glad I became his friend. He's such a nice man. He's just broken in a few places. I think all of us are broken in a way."

"Do you think he's ready to see me?"

Zeryn smiled lightly, "I'm sure he is. If he wasn't, then he wouldn't have sent me out to find you. I know he'd want to do it, but he felt that he wouldn't understand your situation, so he sent me because he felt that I would. We are the same, Bucky, we've just had different things happen to us."

"I think it was a good choice on his part because, you're right, we are alike. It does make me feel better to know that there's someone else out there who's kind of gone through the same stuff I have. Makes it easier to connect with that person."

"And that's exactly what Steve was going for." She jumped slightly when she heard a bit of thunder. Even though the basement muffled out a good chunk of the sound, she could still hear it, "Great…it's here…or coming…or something."

"I didn't hear anything."

"My senses. It's nice to have enhanced senses, but it sucks, all at the same time." She screamed slightly when she heard her phone go off, "Ugh! Even my phone's adding to my scaredness." She answered it, "It's been awhile, Remy…Yes, I have been replying to your texts, just been busy…Yes, we're in New York now. Just at my parents' house riding out that storm…Yes, I found the basement, thank Goth! But, I can still hear the storm…The basement in the mansion's ten times better at blocking out sound than this."

Bucky got up and walked over to the refrigerator and opened it up. There was several cans of Coke Zero inside and a few cans of 7-Up. He had never heard of Coke Zero before, so he decided to try it. He grabbed one of the cans, then went back over to Zeryn and sat down next to her. He opened up the can.

"Yes, that's true. Well, I should be alright. If anything, we'll be back at the mansion tomorrow. I need to switch up vehicles, since Logan's been giving everyone hex in class because of it…I've been getting texts from everyone saying that he's whipping their butts like crazy…Yes, I have gotten my fair share of calls and texts from him, but I elect to ignore him. If he wants to kick my butt tomorrow when we get there, then that's fine by me…Yeah, well, I'll deal with him tomorrow. He's no match for me anyways. But, how's it going with you?…Remy! I keep telling you to stop hustling people clean! They do need to pay for their houses and cars and what not…Yes, I know it's their doing by putting the money on the table, but you can't just…Your bank account is probably over flowing by how much money you come back with…Oh geez! Stop buying me stuff. I don't have enough room in my room, and the garage at the mansion's getting filled up with cars! No more cars!…What?! A boat?! Where are you going to put that?…Remy, I think you need to quit while you're ahead…Alright, just promise me you'll come home without a crap load of money or a car or a deed to someone's house…Yes, I'll see you in a week. I love you, too, and behave yourself! Good afternoon!"

She hung up, then laid her phone next to her and sighed, "Man! His gambling problem is the only thing I don't like about him."

"It sounds like he does have a problem. Why would he take people's cars, boats and…house?" Bucky seemed a bit confused by all of this. Money, he'd understand, but all that other stuff? No, he didn't understand.

"People aren't smart when they play against him. He's good and I mean scary good. He'll clean you out within moments. People think that if they put their car, or house, or boat, or whatever, on the line, then they can't loss…they do."

"Is it against the rules for them to do that?"

"They're at a casino. I don't know. I don't go to those things. He does give them their house deeds back, though, but keeps the money. People just don't know when to stop with him. They always believe they'll some how out smart him…they never do. I wouldn't be surprised if he has more money in the bank than my parents have."

"Do you think that's possible?"

Zeryn shrugged, "It could very well be. But, I don't pay attention to his account. I just know that he enjoys spending money on me and taking me on trips. Whatever gets me away from the mansion for a week or so is fine with me."

"Do you not like it there?"

"Oh no! I do. I just have my days when I can't put up with drama. Sometimes I feel like it's a high school. Drama this, drama that. I just lock myself up in the library. It's sound proof, so I can't hear anyone…unless someone's knocking on the door. But, when it comes time for a battle, we're always focused and ready. If only that same attitude stayed with us the rest of the time." She jumped slightly when she heard the thunder getting closer. She hid under the blanket, "Yes, I am that scared of storms. Don't judge me."

"I can't hear anything."

"It's coming. Sadly, it feels like it lasts a million years for me when it only lasts several minutes for someone else." She sighed, "It's days like this that I curse having enhanced senses!" She gripped the blanket when she heard some more thunder. It was getting closer by the second. Once it was right near the house, she knew that she'd be freaking out really badly and she couldn't keep herself calm. Even at the mansion she was like this.

Bucky watched her. He knew he had to find a way to keep her calm, but he wasn't sure what to do for he had never faced a situation like this before. He was a bit hesitant about touching her, worried that she might lash out at him with her claws, so he decided to keep the conversation going. Maybe them talking would help the drown out the storm.

"What's your real name? I mean, you must have had a name before you lost your memory."

Zeryn looked out from the blanket, then pulled it away from her face, "Chantal Nicole Monaghan. I got the name I have now from the mutant who put the metal in me. I know I can change my name, but…I really like it. It's unique and different. I made Chantal my middle name, so at least I have my real name with me…even if I don't respond to it."

"I like your real name. It really nice. French?"

Zeryn nodded, "But, we're German and Canadian. I did know German and French. Working on the German again…even though it gives me a headache." She sat back slightly, "I guess it's a cool name. It's not a common name…unless you go over to France, that is. Or Canada." She looked over at the TV, then stood up, "Let's put on some music…if I can figure out how to turn this thing on." She walked towards the TV and looked for the remote control.

"I still like your real name." Bucky stood up and went after her, "It's pretty."

"Thank you." Zeryn replied to him as she looked around for the remote, "Holy crap! There's no way that it could vanish around here." She went over to the bar, then looked around. She pulled open one of the drawers, then found it…and two more. Her eyes widened as she pulled them up, "Um…problem."

Bucky sat down at the bar as he put his drink down, "Don't look at me. You're on your own with that one."

"Um…ok, so…" She looked over at the TV, "One works the TV, one must work the surround sound and the other…cable box. Ok…this should be easy…I hope." She held up one of the remotes and pushed the power button. She heard a small thump sound, "Ok, that one is the surround sound." She put it to the side and grabbed another. She hit the power button and saw the cable box turn on, "Cable box." She grabbed the last one and hit the power button. The TV turned on showing a golf game on the Golf Network. Both herself and Bucky quickly found out how loud the volume was when the golfer being interviewed began to speak.

"Shit!" Bucky quickly covered his ears, "And to think I thought the music at the Hard Rock was loud!"

Zeryn quickly grabbed the remote for the surround sound and turned the volume down to decent level. She sighed a little, "Deft much?" She was mainly referring to her father as she grabbed the remote for the cable box and began flipping through the channels, "Who the heck listens to a golf game at such a high volume?"

"Who watches golf in the first place?" Bucky replied while moving his hands away from his ears, once the volume and his ears came to an agreement.

"True." She finally came to the channel that she liked, an all 80's music station. She set it, then adjusted the surround sound, so it wouldn't make the both of them go deft, "Fingers crossed it drowns out the storm." She walked over to the other side of the bar and sat down next to him, "Because I'm really hoping it does."


	7. Chapter 7

Within the hour, the storm had recited, but a light rain kept up until close to six o'clock when it had stopped completely. Zeryn and Bucky had entertained themselves by playing some pool and darts, which kept getting interrupted by Logan constantly texting or calling Zeryn. Eventually, she just elected to ignore him for it was distracting her from the games. Bucky had won every game of pool that they played, besides one, and almost all the dart games, even though he'd get upset when the dart board would talk to him whenever he missed the point that he needed. The surround sound was a big help as Zeryn didn't hear the storm at all. She had forgotten about it until she heard her stomach starting to growl, which meant that it was time for them to eat.

"Guess it's time to eat, or think about getting something to eat." She walked over to her phone and looked at the time, "Woo! It's almost seven!"

"Really?" Bucky asked while putting the cue sticks back on the rack they were hanging from on the wall, "It doesn't seem that late."

"At least we were able to find ways to distract ourselves for several hours." She opened up the weather app on her phone and looked at the radar, "It seems like another storm will be coming in about three hours, then stop by morning. You don't mind if we sleep down here, do you?"

"Hey, there are bedrooms down here, so it doesn't bother me."

"I'm cool with it was well. Plus, I sleep better when it's cooler in my room. Now, we should probably think about getting something to eat. I'm thinking I might have to pick something up. I doubt there's any food upstairs."

"Get whatever you want. Honestly, I'm fine with anything." He walked over to the couch, then sat down on it.

Zeryn thought for a moment, then looked through her phone for places to eat in the town nearby. She spotted something that interested her, then leaned over the back of the couch and looked at him, "Want to share some soup? I think I know something that you might like."

"It's up to you. I'm not too hungry, but I should eat."

"You kind of sound like me. I mean, it's not that I don't eat because I do. I just…read a lot and that distracts me, so when I get distracted, I don't feel hungry. The professor gets upset when I don't eat."

"A young woman does need food to help keep her strong."

"I know. I just…great. Now I'm not hungry anymore." She jumped onto the couch, then sat down, "It's not against you. I can just see the professor or Scott watching me. It makes me sick to my stomach and nervous. They'll take my book and make sure that I don't leave the table until I've eaten all my food. I do have a bottle of water and some fruit sitting next to me when I read, so when I do get hungry or thirsty, I do have something there to eat. But, I don't like it when they watch me. At least they let me eat what I want to eat, that's the good thing."

"Honestly, my body's still trying to adjust to eating a lot. What we had this morning filled me up. I know it'll take awhile, but I can deal with it. But, I'm guessing living off just one meal a day is bad for you, right?"

Zeryn shrugged slightly, "I guess it would be, but if you're not hungry, then no need to force yourself to eat. You'll get adjusted soon. Steve will help you out with that." She smiled lightly.

"I think that might be what's causing part of the problem. I'm still a bit scared to meet him."

Zeryn placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "It'll be alright. I'm sure he's just as scared as you are. But, I'm very sure that will all fade away once you two see each other. Who knows, he might end up giving you a hug. That wouldn't surprise me."

Bucky sat back slightly as he looked at her. While he was excited to see Steve again, he was just as nervous.

"If you would like to rest, you can. I'm going to stay up for awhile and read. Yes, I know it's early, but you should think about getting some must deserved rest. I'm sure you need it."

"Can I just pass out here, for now?"

"If you'd like. I'm going to leave the TV on for tonight. It did help to drown out the storm, so I'm hoping it'll do the same thing again for when it hits later on."

"Will I be in your way?"

Zeryn shook her head, "No, you won't. Don't worry about me. Just get yourself some rest. We can leave here by eight in the morning and should be at the mansion around noon or a bit earlier."

"He will allow me in, right? Your professor? I mean, I'm not a mutant and it seems like just mutants are allowed in there."

"He said that you can stay with us and can come visit whenever you'd like. He knows that you're not a bad guy. He doesn't allow those kinds of mutants, or human friends of his, to enter. Plus, I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting some of the others and Cookie! Dogs are great for those who are suffering from PTSD!" She smiled, "You can play with Cookie! She loves to play catch and frisbee!"

"Your professor has a big heart, doesn't he?"

"Very big!" She smiled at him, then grabbed her book, which was laying on the floor next to the couch, "You'll like him. He's a really nice man and very smart as well."

He was glad to know that the mutants had a place to call their home, but he knew that his home would be with his long lost friend. He grabbed the blanket that was on the other side of the couch, then covered himself up. He curled up so that he wasn't in Zeryn's way before letting out a yawn.

"Rest well." She replied to him before opening up her book and beginning to read.

It wasn't too much longer before Bucky was out cold and into dreamland. But, his mind and memories began to mess with his head again. It began with him coming home from the war and going to the place where him and Steve lived together. He walked inside, but didn't see his friend anywhere around. What he had found inside were broken windows and writing on one of the walls in Russian. Someone had kidnapped Steve. He quickly rushed out only to find that the scenery around him had changed. He was back in Germany at the warehouse where his unit was taken to after they had been captured. Across the way he saw Steve staring at him. It was as if they'd switched places. Steve was now the one with the metal arm…was now the assassin. His mission? To kill Bucky and his unit, the 107th. Bucky didn't want to kill his friend, but, at this point, he had no choice for Steve not only began throwing knives at him, wounding Bucky's leg, but started to shoot at him. He had to defend himself somehow, so he grabbed his hand gun and fired it, hitting Steve in the head, killing him on the spot. Bucky dare not move as he couldn't believe that he had just killed his best friend. He began to shake as a figure moved into the shadows. It pointed a gun at Bucky, then fired. The bullet missed, but it trigged something behind him…something that would set the warehouse on fire. Bucky had to escape as the flames began to engulf the building. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. His leg was too badly wounded. He saw the flames take Steve before making its way towards him. He tried with all his might to move. He couldn't. He yelled at the top of his lungs as he became engulfed in the flames.

Bucky woke with a start as his heart felt like it was about to fly out of his chest and he caught himself rambling the same numbers as he had the previous night. He had no idea what those numbers were. He had accidentally woken up Zeryn, who had fallen asleep while reading her book, when he kicked her leg.

Zeryn groaned slightly as she opened up her eyes, "What time is it?" She questioned before sitting up and seeing Bucky staring down at his hands with a few tears rolling down his cheeks. She leaned over, "Hey what's wrong? Nightmare?"

Bucky nodded slightly as he whipped his tears away, but they kept falling.

Zeryn hugged him tightly, "Guess your PTSD is worse than we thought. What happened?"

Bucky wasn't even sure where to start. He was still in shock from the nightmare. The last thing he'd wish for is for what happened to him to happen to Steve. He couldn't even bring himself to speak. All he could manage to say was, "They took him…and hurt him."

Zeryn assumed he was talking about Steve and HYDRA because she wasn't sure who else he would be talking about, "What did they do?"

"They turned him into me. He tried to kill me. I killed him." He couldn't believe he was saying that, he just couldn't. It was only a dream…a nightmare, but it just seemed all to real. He hated it and it was making him sick to his stomach.

"It's ok. Steve's fine, I promise." Zeryn said as she tried to comfort him, "It was just a nightmare. Things will get better, trust me. You're not alone. I've suffered these as well. They will go. It will take time, but they will go, I promise."

He didn't feel that these dreams would ever go away. They just kept coming and coming. It felt like it would be an eternity before they'd vanish from his head. He knew that the only way to keep them away was to not sleep, but he was aware that he couldn't stay awake for twenty-four hours a day. His body needed the sleep…needed the rest. He just hoped that she was right and they would vanish forever. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as more tears fell. He could feel himself starting to get tired again. He didn't want to go back to sleep because he was afraid of the dreams coming back again. But, he felt comfort in Zeryn's arms. He was safe and he knew that he could always wake himself back up and he wouldn't be anywhere near or around HYDRA. No, he'd be here, safe and sound. He allowed his brain to take him back into dreamland…back to sleep.

Zeryn held onto him for a little while as she listened to the music. She could hear the storm starting to come again, but it was mostly being drowned out by the music. She knew that Bucky was suffering, even in his sleep, and she was hoping that being back with Steve would ease the pain, but she knew what would ease his pain, fighting and destroying HYDRA. She still had that pain within her and she wouldn't be completely at ease until she killed the mutant that had caused her so much pain and suffering. She understood his pain, but she wasn't going to allow him to go off on his own to take them down. He would need help. But, right now was not the time to be thinking about such things. She couldn't let those thoughts be passed onto him and bring him dreams that he didn't need anymore. After awhile, she laid him back down, then laid her book on the floor. She laid back down, then closed her eyes. She allowed the music to put her to sleep as the storm raged outside completely unaware of the pain and suffering that was going on within.

Bucky woke the next morning before Zeryn did. He decided to explore the mansion a bit to see what he could find. On the second level, he was able to find all the bedrooms and bathrooms that Zeryn had been telling him about and he even found a huge library. Everything seemed a bit boring to him until he had come to Zeryn's old bedroom. He walked in to see photographs and journals, mainly spiral notebooks, scattered all over the floor. It looked like a tornado had hit her room.

Her room was large and mostly full of bookcases, which were mostly cleared. There was a twin sized bed against the far wall next to a window and a desk. To his left was a doorway that lead to her closet. On the right hand wall was a display case with all her school related awards in it, but it appeared that some were missing.

He went over to her closet, making sure not to step on anything, then looked inside. Her closet was really long and he noticed that half of her clothes were missing. He noticed a dresser at the end of the closet with a bookcase across from it. He figured that she might have taken some, or most, of her things with her, but he didn't understand why her room was a mess.

He went over to one of the pictures and picked it up. It was of Zeryn and another girl, who appeared to be African American and Mexican. They were in marching band uniforms, only the one Zeryn was wearing was a bit different from the one the other girl was wearing. Zeryn's hair was much longer, at least half way down her back. He turned the picture over to see a date, the other girl's name and more writing that said; 'Sophomore Year. First year as drum major!' He walked over to another picture and picked it up. It was of her and six guys, who looked to be several years older than her. He flipped it over and read the back. She was with a band called RAMMSTEIN and each of the guys names were written on it along with the date the photo was taken. He looked at a few more pictures and noticed that in all of them she looked really happy. He didn't understand how such a horrible thing could have happened to someone like her. He turned his head when he heard someone coming into the room. He saw her standing in the doorway.

"What…the heck?" She picked up one of the journals and flipped through it. She was lucky that she always numbered the bottom of the pages, so she was able to tell which pages were missing. It was obvious someone had gone through her stuff and…she had a feeling she knew who it was. She shook her head as she dropped the notebook to the floor, "Of course."

She noticed a long bin sticking out from underneath her bed with the lid off of it. She went over to it and saw that a lot of the pictures were missing. They were either laying on the floor or were gone. She kneeled down next to it and looked through the pictures of people she didn't know. She was able to find one picture of the person she knew was responsible for this mess. She took it out of the bin and looked at it.

It was of her and her 'boyfriend'. They were both dressed really nice and he was holding a trumpet and she was holding a trombone. They were both holding up gold metals that they'd won in a music contest. He was taller than her, close to six foot, and had short brown hair. He looked like the kind of guy who enjoyed showing off his 'money' by the kinds of clothes and jewelry that he wore. She, on the other hand, kept her Gothic style by sporting a black victorian styled dress with Gothic jewelry and fishnet gloves.

She turned to the cabinet and saw that the metal was missing. In fact, a few of her music related awards were missing. All the remained were her other academic awards. She looked at the picture, then threw it to the side, "He'll do anything to not forget me and to figure out who Remy is. He'll do anything to ruin my life."

"You have told him that you don't remember anything, right? So, I'm not understanding why he keeps coming back here."

"Because it's obvious that he doesn't want to forget me and make me remember everything. I can't. I really can't. No matter how hard I try, I just can't." She picked up another picture of herself and one of her other band friends. She turned the picture over and looked at the name and date on the back, "I'll never remember. My brain just can't process it. But, I'm not mad about it. I mean, I realize I had a great life, but I believe fate wanted this for me. If I didn't lose my memory, then I would have never met the professor, the other mutants, Clint, Steve, or you." She looked at him, "And, I'm happy with what I have and with who I have in my life. Even though there are a few things from my past that I'd like to remember, I'm just glad to have these people in my life."

"He should just move on. It's kind of obvious that you're not going to be coming back any time soon. No offense, but he needs to grow up and get a new life."

"You can say whatever you'd like about him, I really don't care." She stood up, then looked around her room, "But, I do agree with you. Coming in here and ripping pages out of my journals, obviously about him, and taking picture of us, besides that one, says that he's not ready to give up. He's going to keep it up till the end. I pity him, though." She looked at him, "He's just going to live a boring life and will end up dying alone."

She headed over to the door, "Well, let's get cleaned up and be on our way. It should be less than two hours to get there. No rests stops. We're going to straight there!" She turned back to him, "And, if you want, you can take one of those pictures. I don't care."

Bucky looked down at the ones that were in his hands. He was aware that she didn't really look like that anymore, but he couldn't help himself. It made him happy to know that she was always a happy person and still was. He found just a picture of her and took that one. Now, he'll have something to look at whenever he felt upset. Her smile just made him feel better. It would remind him that there was someone else out there kind of like him and, even far away, that person could still make him feel better whenever he needed it. He walked over to her and followed her back to the basement, so they could get ready for their journey to the X Mansion.

Within less than an hour, they were out the door and on their way to the mansion. Zeryn decided to stop to get something to eat along the way because she was aware that the professor would find out that she didn't eat and would give her a stern talking to…as if she didn't get enough of those anyway. Bucky decided to eat as well, since his stomach had been driving him crazy since they started their journey. He was hoping that it would hold him over until they got to the mansion. Zeryn had decided to take some backroads to the mansion and that gave Bucky the opportunity to have a look around at the lovely scenery around them. Almost three hours later, they were rolling up to a large mansion that had two circular towers on the sides, looked to be made of brick and was three stories. It looked like it was meant to be in Europe. Bucky had tightened his grip on her slightly. He was a bit nervous to meet these mutants and their leader, Professor X.


	8. Chapter 8

Zeryn pulled up to the garage and drove inside. She pulled into the parking spot Logan always parked the motorcycle in, then turned it off and put the kickstand down. She dismounted, then began to removed the side bags.

Bucky got off and took off the tail bag. He looked around the huge garage to see many different types of vehicles within, many of which belonged to Remy, the cars that he won in his poker matches. He jumped slightly when he heard a dog barking. He turned to see Cookie standing in the doorway.

Zeryn turned to her, "Hello, Cookie!" She smiled, then walked over to her. She handed her the lighter of the two bags, "Would you carry this bag for me? I'll give you a treat once we get back to the room."

Cookie took the strap of the bag in her mouth and trotted to the mansion with Zeryn and Bucky following after her. One of the doors that lead into the mansion was open and she went through it. She lead them up to the second floor and down the hall towards Zeryn's room where Logan was waiting outside of them…well, mainly for Zeryn.

"Took you long enough to get here." Logan said as he watched her pull her room key out of her pocket and open up the door, "Though you were suppose to be here about an hour or so ago?"

"No food at my parents' place. Had to stop and eat." Zeryn opened up the door and allowed Cookie to enter first before leading Bucky inside, "And, this is Bucky. Be nice to him, or I'll throw you out the window."

Bucky glanced at Logan as he passed him into the room. He could tell that Logan was much bigger than him, muscle wise, and was sure that Logan could break any bone in his body if he dared to try and piss Logan off. He didn't need that to happen.

"Won't the professor yell at you for doing that? And, did you eat dinner last night?" Logan walked in after them and watched as Bucky took the tail bag over to the coffee table and set it down. He opened it up.

"Cookie, you can put that in there." She pointed to her bedroom door, then looked at Bucky, "I'll get you a new bag to put your things in. I have several that I don't use." She looked back at Logan, "None of your business." She went over to her bedroom.

"You didn't, did you?"

"I said, it's none of your business!" She called from her room before coming out with a black gym bag and handing it to Bucky. She took a treat out of the jar, then went back into her room.

"That means 'no'! The professor's going to give it to you!" Logan called to her.

"Not unless you keep your trap shut!"

Bucky unpacked the bag and put his things into the new bag. Once he was done, he sat down in the leather chair.

"He'll find out another way!" Logan tapped the side of his head. Even though Zeryn couldn't see him, she was aware what he was talking about.

"I'll throw you out the window!"

"He'll find out about that, too!"

Zeryn peeked out of her bedroom and glared at him, "Shut your trap!" She ducked back inside and finished unpacking. She walked out of her room, with Cookie next to her, then threw the bags over to him, "The key is in one of those bags! Take 'em and leave! You're being a pest!" She went over to the tail bag, picked it up, and threw it his way.

"Hey! I wouldn't be a pest if someone's thief of a boyfriend didn't steal the keys to my new bike!" Logan picked up the bags.

"Good news for you, I broke it in for you. Didn't need it to fall apart on your way to Canada." She walked over to the kitchen and opened up the fridge to get herself and Bucky something to drink.

"I would have been in Canada by now if it wasn't for you."

Zeryn gave him a dead eye look, "Last I remember, the professor said you can leave tomorrow. He didn't say you could leave earlier. Plus, this didn't take as long as I thought it would. Now you have your bike back and I can take the hummer the rest of the way."

Bucky listened to them as he saw Cookie sit next to him and stare at the jar of treats sitting on the table. He reached over and opened it up. He pulled one out and gave it to her.

"So, you're leaving right away?"

"No. We're leaving tomorrow. The professor said that Bucky can stay the night." She walked over to Bucky and handed him a bottle of water, "Plus, I'm getting sick of these long drives and you know I don't like driving on the express way."

"Then, how did you survive driving to DC and back?"

Zeryn sat down on the arm rest of the chair Bucky was sitting in, then pointed over the door, "Logan, out!"

"What? Am I annoying you?"

"Out!"

"Make me!"

Zeryn stared at him for a moment before saying, "COOKIE!"

Cookie quickly ran over to Logan and grabbed one of the bags from his hand before dashing out the door.

"Hey! COME BACK HERE, YOU DUMB DOG!" Logan quickly darted out the door after her.

Zeryn watched for a moment, then turned her head slightly to look at Bucky, "Welcome to my life."

"What's she going to do with the bag?" Bucky looked over by the door as if waiting for Cookie to run back in.

"I have a few ideas." Zeryn looked up on the ceiling when she saw Kurt, the blue demon, hanging from his tail on a beam she had installed for him, "Hallo, Kurt."

Bucky jumped when he heard Zeryn say another name. He looked up to see Kurt hanging there. Ok, so…how in the world did this mutant get into her room? He didn't see him walk in. Could he appear and disappear without warning? He was interested to see what the others in this place could do.

"Hallo, meine freund." Kurt replied in a German accent to her as he watched her get up and walk into the kitchen. He turned to Bucky, "Hallo!" He smiled at him.

Bucky waved to him slightly, "Hi."

"AW! Vhat's za matter? I'm not gonna hurt zu."

"I think he's just nervous." Zeryn replied to him as she put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and started it, "I would be, too, if I was in his position."

Yes, Bucky had to admit he was nervous. He didn't have any kind of special abilities like Zeryn and Kurt. He felt different in this place…well, he felt out of place, like he didn't belong here. Well, he knew that he didn't belong here, but he didn't understand why the professor was nice enough to let him stay the night. He was aware that the professor didn't see him as a threat, but he didn't understand why Zeryn couldn't have just dropped him off at the gate, quickly switched up vehicles, then came back to get him so they could get to the city. Maybe the professor wanted this. Maybe there was something this man wanted him to see…he just wasn't sure what that was.

Bucky looked at Kurt as he slouched down in the chair. He folded his hands and put them on his lap. Yes, he was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

"AW! It's alright, mein freund." Kurt said looking at Bucky, "Ve von't hurt zu. Ve are friendly…though, some can be annoying." He turned his head to the left as he looked at the wall that separated Zeryn from her annoying neighbors.

"When you meet the professor, then you'll feel better." Zeryn took the popcorn out of the microwave, when it was done, and poured it into a large bowl, "Kurt, where is the professor?" She walked over to him.

"Vent zu town." Kurt took the bowl from her, then crossed his legs. He put the bowl in between them, then began to eat, "Vith Strom und Scott. Should be back soon."

"Why didn't Jean go with?" Zeryn sat back down on the arm rest of the chair.

"Making cookies with Luka und showing her how zu make bracelets."

"Oooo! Cookies! That sounds SO good right now!"

Kurt nodded in agreement as he ate the popcorn.

Bucky couldn't lie to himself. He was rather impressed that Kurt was able to balance a bowl on his legs. He wondered how he was able to do that while hanging up side down. Either way, it was very impressive.

"Zo…zu staying?"

"Just the night. We're going to head to the city in the morning. I need a break from driving. We would have been here yesterday…if that stupid storm didn't hit. We had to camp out at my parents' house. Glad they weren't around."

"Then, zu'll be back?"

Zeryn nodded, "Yes, I will be."

"Und…Logan von't kill us in class anymore?"

"He's leaving for Canada tomorrow. Probably for a month, again, so you don't need to worry about him taking over for me."

Kurt let out a deep breath, "Gut! He really kicks us around when zu aren't there."

"I know." She turned her head when she heard someone enter her room.

Logan stood there, soaking wet.

"Mein fruend, did zu fall inzo za pond?" Kurt asked as Zeryn bursted out laughing.

"That darn dog held my bag over the pool! She pulled it away at the last minute!" Logan said through his teeth as Cookie trotted back into the room as if she were rather proud of herself, "Hey! Don't you walk all sassy like that in front of me!"

Zeryn was laughing so hard that she fell back onto Bucky's lap and tears began to fall from her eyes. She could feel a cramp in her stomach.

Cookie walked over to Bucky, then sat down next to him.

"Guess dogs don't like zu." Kurt ate some more popcorn before grabbing the bowl and vanishing. He appeared on the couch, then set the bowl on his lap as his tail rested on his shoulder.

Logan glared at Cookie, "If you would have dropped that bag into the water, I would have dropped you in the water!"

"She can swim." Kurt replied.

Zeryn slowly started to calm herself down, "I'm sorry, but you kind of deserve that. Think of it as punishment for kicking the other student's butts in class."

"You took my bike! I had to find some way to take out my frustrations." Logan replied.

Bucky looked over at Cookie, then started to pet her on the head. He began to feel some comfort, but he wasn't sure how or why. He felt as if all of his troubles had been lifted from his shoulders. As if all the bad things he had done had been erased from him. He sat back slightly as he closed his eyes, allowing all the emotions to drain from him.

"Don't take your frustrations out on them. You should save it for me. I dislike how you whip their butts around. It isn't a class to use your powers. It's a class to train you to defend yourself without using them. If you keep kicking them around like that, then they will use their powers. That's not the point of the class. That's not what the professor wants."

"How else am I suppose to take my frustrations out?"

"There is a punching bag down there. Make use of it." Zeryn sat up, so she was sitting on Bucky's lap.

"That thing wouldn't last long enough against me."

"You know how many times I've tried that? Someone would stop you before you could make that happen. Now, could you please go get cleaned up. You reek of chlorine." She covered her nose.

Kurt snickered a little as he could tell that Logan was becoming furious with her.

"I'm going to kick your ass later!" Logan turned and walked out of the room.

"Not unless I kick yours first!" Zeryn called after him, then laid back down on Bucky's lap, "The professor won't let us get that far, will he?" She looked over at Kurt.

Kurt shrugged, "Depends what zu plan zu do."

Zeryn glanced up at the ceiling.

Kurt shook his head, "Zu can't kick him off za roof."

"It was worth a shot. I'll just kick his ass in the training room…then throw him out the window."

Kurt slapped his head slightly as he shook his head, "Just beat him up in za room."

Zeryn sighed a little, "Oh, alright. I will."

Luka walked in a few moments later carrying a plate of cookies in her hand. She went over to Zeryn, "Hello. I was hoping you'd be back. I made this for you with Jean." She handed the plate to her.

"They look lovely, thank you!" Zeryn smiled at her as she took the plate from her, "I'll share them with Kurt and Bucky."

Kurt smelled the air, "Zey smell gut!"

Luka looked at Bucky, "Is this the man you helped?"

Zeryn nodded, "Yes. He's staying the night, then we're going to the city in the morning. Depending on how he feels, we might stop at the place him and Steve grew up at. But, if he's ready, then we'll go see Steve. I don't want to push it, but I don't want to overwhelm him. I'll leave it up to him."

"He doesn't seem like a bad guy. I don't understand why he did all those things."

"He didn't. Someone bad got ahold of him and brainwashed him. They used him to do their dirty deeds. Steve helped save him. I just helped break the brainwashing a bit more. But, his PTSD is pretty bad."

"PTSD?"

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had a pretty bad dream last night. I'm hoping it'll subside soon."

"After what he's been through, it may be a long time before it does." Kurt replied while placing the popcorn bowl on the coffee table.

"He seems alright right now." Luka said as she watched him pet Cookie, his eyes were still closed.

"Because dogs are great to help relieve stress." Zeryn said, "A lot of soldiers who come back from war have them."

"Cookie can sleep with him tonight, if it'll make him feel better."

"You know, I think that's a good idea. I'm sure he wouldn't mind it at all."

Later that night, Zeryn set up a blow up mattress in the library. Since the professor was strict about allowing males and females to room together, the library and student lounge were the only other choices that they had. She knew that the student lounge was going to be busy for several hours, so she figured that the library was the next best thing. She would sleep on the couch while Bucky took the mattress, so Cookie would have room to lay next to him. Once the mattress was set up, she made her bed on the couch. She turned her head slightly when she heard the door open and saw Bucky walking in.

"I'm sorry we have to sleep down here, but the professor has some strict rules about us sharing our rooms with the opposite sex. Plus, I'm not sure if you'd want to room with any of the other guys."

"It's fine." Bucky walked over to the couch, then saw Zeryn stopping him.

"I'm sleeping here. You're sharing the mattress with Cookie. I'm afraid the couch doesn't fold out into a bed."

"You really shouldn't be sleeping on the couch."

"I've fallen asleep down here before. Yes, again, reading. It's alright. It's leather and is comfortable. Don't worry about me. Plus, you and Cookie can't fit on here."

"I don't see why I have to share my sleeping space with the dog." Bucky walked over to the mattress and sat down on it.

"I saw you petting her earlier. You looked really peaceful. The only time I've seen you look that way was when you were looking at the uniform in the display case. Dogs are very helpful when it comes to PTSD. I'm hoping that she'll help lift those bad dreams of yours. Yes, they won't go away over night and will last a few months, but they will go. Maybe even being with Steve will help them go. You just need to be at peace with yourself."

"I don't think I ever will be."

"Yes, you will. If anything, think about the past. Think back to before you joined the Army. Think back to the good times you had with Steve. The Army and beyond doesn't exist. I know you might not have all your memories back, but there has to be something floating around in there before your Army days."

"Even if I did do that, all those bad images keep coming up! No matter what! They keep pushing out all the good things!" Bucky laid back on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling.

"Then tell them to go away. Whenever you feel one of those images coming up, push it back. Fight it. Tell it to leave you alone. You're not the person you think you are. You are a good man. And, don't let yourself or anyone else tell you otherwise."

Bucky was about to speak until he felt the mattress move. He turned his head to the side to see Cookie jumping up and down on it.

Luka walked into the room with a blanket in her arms, "She just came in, so she shouldn't bother you to go outside during the night." She put the blanket on the mattress, "She likes to sleep on that, so I'll let you decide where to put it, once you get yourself settled in."

Zeryn looked at Cookie, "If you have to go out, wake me up and not him."

Cookie looked at her for a moment before sniffing around the bed. She grabbed her blanket and was about to get herself comfortable until Luka stopped her.

"Let him get settled in first before you do." Luka said to her.

"It's alright." Bucky said to Luka as he sat up and moved the blankets slightly. He got under them, then rested his head on the pillow, "She can sleep wherever."

Cookie found a spot near Bucky, then twirled around a bit until she felt the spot was going to be comfortable, then laid down on the blanket as she dropped it out of her mouth. She laid her head down.

"Looks like she's all set to go." Luka yawned slightly, "Well, I better head off to bed. Jean's going to read me a story."

"I thought she was going to be over there with them?" Zeryn pointed to the wall next to her. On the other side was the student lounge.

"No. She doesn't want to deal with Scott when he loses all his pool games to Logan."

"Oh, great! I'm sure I'll be able to hear them through the doors when they walk by. Oh well. I'll deal with it. Have a good rest."

"Thank you, you too." Luka said, then walked over to Bucky. She sat down next to him, then hugged him, "Have a good sleep. I hope Cookie gives you good dreams."

Bucky wasn't expecting to get a hug from Luka. He turned slightly, then hugged her back, "I'll be alright. And, I'm sure she will."

Cookie turned her head slightly as she watched them before watching Luka walk over to the door. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes before falling into a deep sleep.

Zeryn watched Luka as she closed the door behind her. She laid down on her stomach and looked at Bucky, "So, wanna tell stories?"

Bucky looked over at her, "I don't have any tell…at least, not yet anyway."

"It's alright. Just thought I'd ask." Zeryn rolled over on her back and looked up at the ceiling, "I'm sure Steve will have some to tell. He'd always tell me stories about you two. I love listening to his stories and he loves listening to mine as well."

"What has he told you?"

"Nothing bad. Only the good stuff."

For some reason, that second part sounded very familiar to him and he wasn't really sure why. He closed his eyes and tried to search his memories for the answer. He felt that he could see it. It was blurred, but the scenery in the background seemed familiar. It looked like a fair, or some kind of expedition. He could see Steve next to him. He was still the skinny, sickly boy he remembered before leaving for war. And, he was in his dressy military uniform. They were going somewhere, but where? It was still a blur. He raised his hand to his head as he gripped his hair slightly.

Zeryn rolled back over onto her stomach and watched him, "You're remembering, aren't you?"

"I…said something like that to him before. But, I don't really remember when. It's just a blur. I can see it, but…it's just too blurry to make out."

"It's because you were trying to get Steve a date for the World Expedition. Plus, Howard Stark was having a display there with items that would change the future. Steve snuck off because he was still determined to join the Army. You pretty much ditched your date when you found out he was missing."

Bucky's eyes shot open as he quickly sat up and looked at her.

"You left your date for your friend because you were worried about him. That shows how much you cared for him. You were his big brother. You were all he had when his mom died and he was all you had when your parents died. You two needed each other. He was devastated when he found out that you were going to war. He enlisted because he wanted to fight by your side. But, he couldn't because he was sick. Everyone turned him down. But, someone gave him a chance after you left. He couldn't imagine a world without you. I'm sure it was the same with you, right?"

Bucky couldn't find the words to answer with because his brain was running through memories. Things were starting to come back. Now, he was starting to remember. Everything, all at once, was rushing through his brain. He was sure he'd have a headache in no time.

"Tell me, why did you go to war? Was it the same reason the other men went, to protect this country after Pearl Harbor was bombed, or was there another reason?"

"I…don't even know at the moment." Bucky pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. He knew exactly why he went now, but his brain was still hurting, "I don't."

Zeryn watched him for a moment before rolling on her side when she heard the professor speak to her.

'Leave him be for now, Zeryn. His memories are bombarding him at the moment. He's starting to get overwhelmed. You of all people should know what that's like. And, you even promised not to overwhelm him.' Xavier thought to her.

'I know. I'm sorry, professor. I'll stop.' She thought before looking at Bucky one last time, "I'm going to head off to bed. You should, too. Give your mind time to relax. Have a good night." She rolled over onto her other side and closed her eyes.

Bucky sat there for several long minutes until he could feel his brain telling him that it was time to head off to bed. He laid down and quickly allowed sleep to possess his body. He didn't want to think anymore. All he wanted was to sleep and hope that he wouldn't have anymore bad dreams or dreams that allowed all these memories to surface. And, for once, he got his wish.

He was sitting on a train in his dressy uniform staring out the window at the scenery passing by. There were soldiers sitting around him waiting for the train to pull into the station where their families would great them. While the soldiers were excited, he really wasn't. Yes, he was looking forward to seeing his best friend again, but…what were they going to do? They were just living in a small apartment and he knew that he'd have to get a job right away in order for them to keep going. Soon, the train stopped at the station and the soldiers began to leave the train and look for their families. Once he had exited, he looked around for Steve. Soon he found him, skinny, little Steve, dressed in his usual 'nerd' outfit, only he was standing next to a golden retriever. What? No way! Did Steve really pick up a stray dog while he was gone? They couldn't take care of the dog, they just couldn't. He knew that and he'd hoped that Steve knew that as well. As they exited the station, Steve lead him over to a…cab? Really? What the heck was going on? Did Steve some how gain a shit load of money when he was gone? He got in with Steve and the dog and allowed the driver to take them home. He looked out the window to see a lot of happy soldiers with their families walking down the streets. Within moments, he could see their apartment coming into view only…the driver went past the apartment. He turned to Steve and gave him a strange look. Steve just smiled at him as he held onto the dog. Bucky was becoming very confused as to what was going on, but, soon, he had his answer as the cab pulled up to a nice looking house. Steve and the dog got out and ran up to the door, where a couple, either in their late fifties or early sixties, stood waiting for them. He got out after Steve, then looked at the house and the couple. He went up to the house and was surprised to find that the woman gave him a big hug and the man smiled as he shook his hand. The woman smiled and brought him inside. Steve was bouncing up and down on the couch with the dog, excited that Bucky was home and home for good. Bucky smelled food cooking in the kitchen. It was his favorite, he knew. The woman ushered Steve into the kitchen as the man put his hand on Bucky's shoulder and smiled as he took him into the dining room. For the first time, since he'd left for war, he smiled. A couple had not only took Steve in, but him as well. Now, he had what he always wanted, a family and to live with his best friend. Yes, now, life was perfect.

Bucky woke from the dream to see that he was holding onto Cookie, who was still passed out on her blanket. Had Zeryn been right? Were dogs the cure for PTSD? He wasn't expecting a dream like this, but…he really liked it. For once, he could have a peaceful and happy dream. No nightmares, no bad dreams, no nothing. Just a good, peaceful, happy dream. He sat up, then tapped Cookie.

"Hey, do you want to go outside?" He whispered to her as he stood up.

Cookie yawned a little, then looked at him with blinking eyes. Of course she wanted to go outside. She loved going outside. She got up and stepped off the mattress before following Bucky over to the door. She walked out and lead him over to the main entrance of the mansion. She sat in front of the door and waited for Bucky to open up the door. Once it was opened, she ran outside and sniffed around.

Bucky stepped out into the fresh air, then sat down and looked up at the sky. The stars. He could see the stars. He could never see them in the city. The sky was so clear out here. He liked it. He felt safe and free. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and slowly let it out, taking in the clean, fresh air. He was so lost that he didn't realize that Xavier was by the doorway.

"How are you holding up, Mr. Barnes?" Xavier asked. He was bald and was wheelchair bound. Even though it was late at night, he was still dressed nicely, as if expecting someone to come.

Bucky quickly turned his head and looked at the professor.

Xavier smiled at him, "You had a good dream, didn't you?" He moved the wheelchair so that he was outside next to Bucky.

"Yeah. I did…for once."

"Wonderful! Dogs are very comforting creatures. They listen, but they don't judge. All they want is to please." Xavier watched Cookie as she ran around trying to find a grasshopper, "So, did you dream about your friend?"

"Yeah."

"And, a wonderful dream I'm sure it was. It's all you ever wanted, wasn't it? A loving family with your friend in the mix."

Bucky looked up at the professor.

Xavier smiled, "But, you're not alone in this world. You do have family and he's waiting for you, in the city. The question is, are you ready to be reunited with him?"

"I…" Bucky looked down. He knew that he was ready, but…after all that stuff that he did to Steve. No! That wasn't him doing it! That was someone else. Someone caused him do that. That wasn't the soldier…the man he was.

"Don't second guess yourself." Xavier turned his chair to him, "Always go with the first thing that comes to you. Your heart is ready and so is your mind, but all these things keep rushing back. Push them back, push them away. You are stronger than those." He leaned down and picked up Bucky's metal hand. He held it in his, "You are ready, Mr. Barnes. You have been ready. Do not let anything stop you or tell you otherwise. Steve is waiting for you, so go to him. Go make your friend happy."

Bucky wasn't sure what it was, but the professor's words seemed to empower him. If only he had someone like him when he ran off after saving Steve from the water, then he was sure that he'd never be haunted by all these bad dreams. He turned to see Cookie standing there in front of him and nudge his other hand with her nose. He placed it on her head and began to pet her. He looked at Xavier.

"I'm pretty sure I'm ready."

"No, you are ready." Xavier smiled at him, then helped him up, "Now, go get some rest. It's best if you leave early tomorrow. The traffic can get pretty crazy down there at certain times of the day."

"Thank you, sir."

"Please, call me Xavier. Now, to bed with you. And, may you have many more good dreams." Xavier allowed Bucky and Cookie to go in first before entering. He shut the door behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

Zeryn began to load up the back of her blue Hummer while Logan was busy getting his motorcycle ready a few parking spaces away from her. Bucky was outside playing some frisbee with Cookie while he waited. Zeryn closed up the trunk just as Logan was walking over to her. She glanced at him.

"Still mad about yesterday?" She asked as she leaned against the spare tire on the back of the Hummer.

Logan held up his hand as his metal claws came out.

"You can kick my ass when you get back."

Logan put his hand down as his claws retracted back in his fist. He looked out the garage door, "He looks happier now."

"The professor said that he was having some really good dreams last night. I guess having Cookie around helped out. The question is, is he ready to face Steve not."

"Do you think he is?"

"I'm pretty sure he is." Zeryn smiled as she watched Luka walk over to Bucky and Cookie.

Bucky threw the frisbee for Cookie, then saw Luka standing there next to him. He kneeled down, "Thanks for letting her spend the night with me. It…really helped."

"Your welcome. I'm just glad she could be of some help to you. And, I made this for you." Luka held out a three way braided bracelet in her hand. There were two grey strings and one red to match his metal arm, "I know it's not the best, but I'm still learning. Jean just taught me how to make these a few days ago. Plus, having paws for hands makes it a bit harder."

"I like it." Bucky said, then held out his good arm to allow her to put it around his wrist.

Luka tied it on making sure that it wouldn't fall off, but that it wasn't very tight either.

"Thank you."

"Will you come back and visit us?"

"I'll do my best." Bucky smiled at her, then hugged her, "Thank you, again."

Luka smiled and hugged him back, "You're welcome!"

Bucky let go of her, then stood up. He looked over at the garage and saw Zeryn waiting for him, "I'll see you later." He said to Luka and Cookie, then went over to the garage.

Zeryn and Logan watched him come over to them.

"Are you ready?" Zeryn asked him.

Bucky looked at her, then nodded slightly.

"Where do you want to go? Do you want to go to your hometown first, or do you want to straight to the city to see Steve? It's up to you."

It took Bucky a moment before answering, "To the city."

Zeryn nodded slightly, "Then, to the city we will go." She turned to Logan, "Guess we're heading out. You should as well."

"Yeah, yeah. Have a safe trip." Logan walked over to her and hugged her, "I'll be back to kick your ass in a month."

"I'm looking forward to it." Zeryn hugged him back, "Have a safe trip."

"Same to you." Logan said, then looked at Bucky, "And, good luck to you."

Bucky nodded slightly, then watched Logan go over to the motorcycle. He walked over to the passenger side of the Hummer and waited for Zeryn to unlock it before getting in.

Zeryn got in, then closed the door. She looked at him, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Bucky turned to look at her, then nodded.

"Alright." She put her seatbelt on, then started up the Hummer. Within seconds she quickly turned down the radio because it began to blare loud music. She groaned, "Darn it, Remy!" She popped out the cajun music CD that was in the CD player in the Hummer, "Take your shit outta my car when you're finished with it!" She leaned over and opened up the glove compartment and threw the CD inside before pulling out an 80's CD and popping it in, "And, Bucky, make sure you put your seatbelt on. State law. Just giving you a heads up." She pulled her phone out of her pocket, then sent a quick text to Steve to let him know that they were on the way. She stuck it back into her pocket, then pulled out of the parking spot, "NYC, here we come." Within moments, they were out of the garage and off of the mansion property and on their way to the big city.

Time passed as Bucky stared out the window and watched as the scenery changed from country to town to city. As soon as he saw the city, he began to feel nervous and sick to his stomach. His emotions began to over power him as they passed through the Holland Tunnel and into the big city. He tried to calm himself by watching the people walking on the sidewalk. He saw a few military personnel walking towards Time Square. Just seeing that made him think of Steve and their time together in the military. If there was one thing he wanted right now it was for himself and Steve to be in their dressy military uniforms. He'd give anything to have that uniform back. He wondered if Steve still had his.

A few more minutes of driving and they were in a more upscaled part of the city. Zeryn drove down one the streets and pulled into an under ground parking garage below a fifteen story apartment complex, where Steve was renting an apartment for the time being. She pulled into a parking spot next to Steve's motorcycle, then turned off the Hummer. She turned and looked at Bucky, "You ready? Or, do you need a moment?"

Bucky sat back in the seat as he looked out the windshield, "If I don't do this now…then I'm just going to keep running." He unbuckled his seatbelt, then got out of the Hummer.

Zeryn got out right after him, then walked over to the back of the Hummer and opened up the trunk. She handed him his bag, then took out a bag of her own, since she had a feeling that she'd be staying the night. She had no plans to leave the city when it was dark out. Not only did she dislike driving in the city or the expressway, but she hated driving on both in the dark. Once the trunk was closed up, she lead him over to an elevator that would take them to the main floor. From there, they would switch elevators and take it to the fourth floor. As soon as they were on the fourth floor, she lead Bucky down the hall to the last room on the left hand side. She paused outside the room, then looked at him.

Bucky stood next to her as he looked at the door. The number on the door was 107, the same number as his unit. His nerves began to kick in as he just stared at the door. Now, he was scared. He wasn't sure what Steve's reactions were going to be. Was Steve mad at him? Was Steve just as nervous to see him as he was to see Steve? He allowed Zeryn to ring the bell next to the door. Now, he waited.

Within moments, the door opened up and Steve was standing there in a pair of sweat pants and a black Underarmer shirt. It looked like he had just gotten back from either the gym or going for a jog. He looked at Bucky for several moments unsure of what to say.

Zeryn looked between the two of them, waiting for one of them to speak. But, soon, she noticed this look in Steve's eyes and quickly moved out of the way because she knew what was coming.

Within seconds, Steve was out the door embracing Bucky in a hug as a few tears rolled down his cheeks.

It took Bucky a few moments to hug Steve back. This definitely wasn't what he was expecting from Steve, but, now that he thought about it, it's probably how Steve would have greeted him when he returned home from war. He couldn't help but get a little teary eyed as well.

"You're a punk." Were the first words to come out of his mouth.

Steve smiled a little as he replied, "Jerk."

'Mission accomplished!' Zeryn thought as she was able to snag a picture of the two of them before Steve pulled away.

"Come on in! I just got back from the gym a few minutes ago. I'm sorry I didn't have time to clean up." Steve allowed them to enter first before walking in behind them and closing the door and locking it.

The apartment was rather large. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one of which was a full bath, the other wasn't, a nice sized kitchen and dinning room and a large living room. There was a hall closet next to the main door. All the furniture was leather and there were a few patriotic items on display or hanging up on the walls.

Steve ran over to the couch and grabbed his gym bag, "Man! I didn't get your text until about twenty minutes ago. And, traffic's getting kind of crazy out there. Man! I'm sorry about all of this." He darted to his room to put his bag away and put on a new pair of clothes.

"Don't worry about, Steve. It's alright." Zeryn walked over to the leather chair and sat down. She put her bag down before taking off her boots and setting them on top of the bag.

Bucky took a seat on the couch and put his bag down in front of him. He looked around as he could hear Steve franticly running around in his room. He removed his boots, then took the hoodie off that he was wearing. No matter where he went, he felt that he still had to keep his metal arm hidden, at least for the time being. He wanted to keep a low profile until he knew that it would be alright for him to walk around in public without a hoodie or jacket on…at least until it got colder out.

Steve came back out several minutes later wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, "Zeryn, I didn't know you were going to stay the night."

"Steve, you know I dislike driving at night in the city…and on the expressway." She shivered slightly, "Even thought I dislike driving on both in general. I'll sleep on the couch. I'm use to it."

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch."

"Bucky's going to be staying with you, so it's only fitting that he sleeps in the spare bedroom. You keep your room. I really don't mind. I fall asleep on the couch all the time. It's no big deal. Plus, I know that couch folds out into a bed anyways."

"No lady should have to sleep on the couch. I don't care if it folds out into a bed or not. It's not right. The man should be the one to sleep on the couch."

Zeryn gave him one of her 'dead' stares, "Mon ami, you know you're not going to win this argument. You keep your room and let Bucky have the other one. I'm fine out here. If I wasn't fine with it, then I'd let you know. But, believe me, I'm fine with it."

Bucky shook his head slightly as a slight grin came across his face, "Steve, it's been how many years and you still can't seem to get a girl to listen to you?" He stood up, "This is an easy situation to fix." He walked over to Zeryn.

Zeryn looked up at him, "Can I help you?"

"You see, Steve, all you have to do is…" Bucky quickly swiped Zeryn up in his arms, "…pick them up."

"Hey! Not cool!"

"You do know that she'll put up a fight with you, right?" Steve asked him.

"I'm aware of her fighting style. We battled a bit in the hotel room back in DC. I wanted to see her skills against my knife…I wasn't expecting her to grab it." Bucky replied.

"Even if I didn't have healing powers, I'm sure I probably would have done it anyway. That would have been my first reaction. But, no scars, so all's good. Now, put me down." Zeryn looked at him, "I'm stubborn! You will not get me to change my mind."

"No."

"Steve!"

"Sorry, not going to help you out of this one." Steve said as he watched her struggle to get out of Bucky's grasp.

Later that evening, the three of them sat around the coffee table sharing some chicken fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. Steve had put on some 1940's music for them to relax to, even though they could still hear the sounds of the cars going past the apartment complex.

Zeryn sighed a little when she felt her phone vibrate next to her, "Oh God, Remy! I told you I'm eating, leave me be!"

"What does he want?" Steve asked as he watched Zeryn look at the text message she had received.

"He just won a bass guitar." She showed him and Bucky the picture Remy had sent to her, "I'll take that over the boat he won."

"A boat? How's he going to get it up here?"

"The better question to ask is if he can drive it or not." Bucky replied before eating a piece of sweet and sour chicken.

"I don't want to be there when he does take it for a spin. Until I know that he can drive it safely, I'm not going for a ride with him." She quickly texted him back, then put the phone down next to her, "I want that bass. It shall be mine."

"Don't you have the money to buy your own?" Steve asked as he took a sip of his water.

"After all the stress and heart attacks he's put me through, he owes me…even though he keeps spoiling me with gifts and trips." She sat back against the chair as she fiddled with her fork, "He's such a confusing guy, but he does have a heart of gold. I just wish he was brave enough to see it."

"Hasn't he put you through…um…heck before?"

She nodded as she kept playing with the fork, "I've had times where I've wanted to grab him with my claws, but…I just can't bring myself to do that. He's taken wounds for me. He followed me when I've told him not to because he's worried about losing me…again."

Bucky looked over at Steve before turning his gaze to Zeryn.

"It's a long story." She said as she met his gaze, "I'll tell you at another time. Pretty much, my past self ran into him on a trip down to New Orleans with my 'boyfriend'. Let's just say that I kind of fell for him and he fell for me. We weren't sure what was drawing us to each other. But, I believe it's because we knew that we were different, we were mutants. I've never trusted someone so quickly before. Same went for him."

"So…in a sense, you…cheated on him?" Bucky asked.

Zeryn held up her hand and moved it from side to side, "Kinda. I had my own PO Box, so we could write to each other. I meet up with him a few times when he moved out here to live at the mansion. He didn't see me when I was in college, so he wasn't aware of my hair style change. He didn't know it was me who came to the mansion until we went to see the psychic that the wheels began to turn. He believes that fate had this planned out for us. If I couldn't be with him in my past life, then I can be with him in this new life."

Bucky couldn't find the words to say. He just couldn't believe that she had cheated on her old boyfriend, but, after seeing the picture of the two of them, he could understand why she wouldn't want to be with him. He seemed like he was stuck up and too good for her. He hadn't met Remy, but he couldn't really decide if he was a man worth trusting or not. But, if his friend was happy, then he should be as well.

"What kind of power does he have?"

Zeryn grabbed her messenger bag, then pulled out the box and a deck of cards. She pulled the cards out of the box and laid them on the table. She opened up the other box and pulled out the cross necklace. She touched the cross with one hand, then put the necklace back into the box, but left the lid open. She picked up the deck with her free hand, then held it up to them. She closed her eyes, then placed her other hand over the top of it. She allowed the power to flow through her as she raised her hand off the deck as one of the cards levitated out of the deck. She opened her eyes, which had turned red, as she turned her hand over and the card followed. Within moments, the card started to disintegrate towards the center when all that was left was the picture in the center, a single black spade.

"Steve knew that you were still somewhere inside that body, and he was able to break through some of the brainwashing. I helped you break the rest. You're not a bad man, Bucky." She reached up and grabbed the spade, then opened up her hand as it had turned to ash.

She placed her finger on the cross as she picked up the deck and repeated the process, "You never were a bad man. Out of all the people in this world, you decided to befriend the strange, weird, sickly kid that everyone else through was weird." She raised her hand from the deck as a card floated out, "You stood up for him, took care of him, was always there for him. He needed you and you needed him. Now, you need him to care for you, just like how you took care of him." The card began to disintegrate leaving a single red heart. She caught it in her hand, then held the palm of her hand open to him as her eye color slowly went back to normal, "You're a brave person, Bucky, and you're a great man. Don't let anyone in this world tell you otherwise."

Bucky took the heart as Steve couldn't contain his excitement from what he had just witnessed.

"Wow! That was amazing! Can you do that again?!" Steve asked. He looked like an excited little kid that wanted to go to the pet store to play with the puppies there.

Zeryn giggled slightly. She loved to see Steve this enthusiastic about stuff, "I would love to, but I'm limited to the power that I have." She closed the box with the necklace in it before putting the cards away, "I'm kind of suppose to use it in an emergency, but I do like to have fun with the power from time to time." She smiled while blushing slighting.

"Your boyfriend has such awesome powers!"

"Well, they're not that great when you factor out the little tricks that I did."

Bucky had tuned out the two of them as he stared down at the heart in his hand. For the longest time he had never felt the kind of love and friendship that he had received over the past few days. All he knew was to do his missions and return to HYDRA, only to get locked away until they were ready for him again. They never once showed any kind of care or compassion for him. They were just using him. But, now, he was free and with his best friend again. He closed his eyes as he closed his hand into a fist and brought it to his chest. He smiled lightly knowing that he was home.


	10. Chapter 10

Bucky woke up around ten that evening as he stared into the darkness. He tried to allow his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but there was very minimal light coming into the room. A bit of light came through the curtains on the window and the other bit was coming from the bottom crack in the bedroom door. He had had a bit of a weird dream and was hoping to talk to Steve about it, after all, he was sure that Steve wouldn't mind being woken up by him to hear about the dream. As he pushed himself out of bed, he heard something coming from the living room. He moved over to the door and opened it just enough to peek out and see Zeryn and Steve practicing some martial arts, only…it seemed that Steve was really backing down as if he wanted Zeryn to win. He knew exactly what Steve was doing because he had done it himself at the hotel. No matter how much Zeryn might have told him to give her everything he'd got, his 'old school' self just couldn't bare to do it. Steve was the same way.

Zeryn was quick to block Steve's foot when he went to kick her, "Try moving your feet a bit more when you fight. And, kicking me doesn't count."

"I have been. I'm just getting tired." Steve blocked a few of her punches.

"Inside of the arms. Good for blocking. Come on, mein freund. I know you can do more than that. And, I'm pretty sure you're not tired." She went to kick him, but was quickly blocked by his arms.

"Had a long day."

"Mm-hm. Steve, seriously, give me all you've got. You know I can go at this for at least twenty minutes. Now, with Logan, I can go much longer. Work off your dinner."

"I…can't. I just can't." Steve walked over to the couch, which they had moved up against the wall, and sat down on it, "I can't bring myself to fight you."

"I'm a teacher. You know I would never harm you." She walked over to the couch, then sat down on the floor, "Just like to train, that's all. And, learn a few moves from you, so I can trick Logan."

"I always have a hard time fighting with you, even though I know that our skill levels are pretty even with each other. I just…can't bring myself to fight with a woman."

"Besides me, I can think of two other women who'd probably knock you around for saying that. Natasha and Peggy."

Steve smiled slightly, "Yeah, I could see Peggy knocking me around a bit for that. Natasha…she'd throw me through a window for not listening to her."

"You're lucky I'm not like Natasha, though, I could have some Peggy in me…I just don't do guns." She shivered slightly, "But, the point is, women are strong and you should never be afraid to fight one of us when we tell you to give us your all. Besides reading, training helps me to relax and I find it fun. Other people might see it as hell, depending who they're fighting against, but some see it as a good escape from reality while learning to defend themselves once they go back to reality."

"But, you don't use the martial arts for defense. You use it for vengeance as well. I don't understand how you can do that."

"First, I don't always use martial arts. I pick up moves from the others around me, and most of them aren't even using defense moves. Second, I always fight as if this were a real life situation. All defense classes should be treated as such. And, third, using defense as vengeance is difficult to learn and do. A lot of focus must go into it and you have drain all your emotions. Emotions can drive you to do something stupid while fighting and that stupidity can cause you to become wounded…or even killed."

"Drain your emotions?" Steve gave her a bit of a confused look, "How?"

Bucky listened as well.

"It's not easy, but meditation helps, too. Twice a month, the class turns into a meditation session, which the professor leads. Not only is it relaxing, but it helps to clear your mind and be rid of any emotions you might have. The trick to this is making sure to drain them in a timely manner. Yes, I know that in a lot of situations, you don't have the time to prepare, so you'll have to do it while you fight. You'll notice your fighting style will change drastically during the fight. All you have to do is allow the emotions to drain from both your heart and your mind at the same time."

"That seems really hard."

"Sadly, your emotions come from both places. Depending on the situation depends on where the emotions come from. If you're defending someone or something that you care most about, it's going to come from here." She pointed to her heart, "But, if you're upset or angry at someone for doing some kind of harm to you, it's going to come from here." She pointed to her head, "But, they both can drag you down when you least expect it. Drain both and you have the power to kick someone to the moon and back. Drain yourself, and you'll be more deadly than any gun, bomb or tank that's ever been created. The human body is the first and only deadly weapon in this world, if you can learn to control what is hidden inside."

She stood up, "When you drain your emotions, they'll affect certain parts of your body." She held up her hands, "The emotions from your brain should drain straight to your hands. These are more deadly than your feet. Your brain is a deadly weapon itself. It holds all your worst emotions and holds you back." She began to do some moves, "Your heart tells you the right thing to do. Your brain counter attacks it. Your heart says to do something, your brain gives you a million reasons why you shouldn't, what could go wrong if you do, what you'd be missing out on if you do it, who you'll leave behind. No matter how much your heart pushes you, your brain will always fight back."

She stopped, then shook it off, "The emotions from your heart should go straight to your feet. You'll notice that a lot of people don't use their feet that much when they fight. The heart holds your true and most personal emotions. The more softer, 'weaker' emotions. When people fight, they mostly stand in the same spot, forgetting to move their feet, which makes it all the more easier to knock them down. Always, always move your feet. Don't allow your opponent to move you backwards. Instead, move them backwards. I was able to move both you and Bucky backwards, which I shouldn't have to. It should go back and forth like in class when Logan and I fight. Stand your ground and never back down. Do mediation, learn to control your emotions and learn to drain them, and you are sure to be the most deadly weapon S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever had."

"That…sounds really hard and complicated." Steve said while rubbing his head as if to say that his brain was finding it hard to process all that information.

"It is hard, but, with practice, you'll get the hang of it." She smiled at him, "It took me time, now Logan and I can kick each others butts without so much as a second thought. Plus, it feels so good when all your emotions have gone away. It's like starting over again. Its so…peaceful. You're at ease with yourself and everything around you. Best part is, no drugs required."

"You know, for a girl who's lost her memory, you sure do know a lot."

"I read too much. Plus, I guess some of my past intelligence is coming back to me. Just kind of wish I still knew my French and German. Kurt's helping me with the German. Remy…only knows Cajun and Canadian French…not too helpful, but it works I suppose." She let out a yawn, "Well…my body's telling me to go to sleep."

"I'll help you move the furniture back into the place and help pull out the fold out bed." Steve stood up and walked over to the side of the couch.

"That would be most helpful, thank you." She went to the other side and pushed the couch back to where it was.

They moved the chair back, but left the coffee table to the side. Steve pulled out the fold out bed and Zeryn made the bed once it was set up.

"Thank you for the help. You can leave the music on, I don't mind. It helps me sleep." Zeryn said as she stood on the bed.

"No problem and I'll try and keep quiet when I leave to go for my morning run. And, thanks for all that information…even if it was a bit too much to take in this late at night." Steve replied to her.

"It's no trouble at all. You and Bucky are welcome to come to the mansion and join in one of the classes. If anyone objects, I'll throw them out a window…unless the professor stops me, which I know he will. But, the next time we train together, don't back down and give me your all, or I'll tell Natasha and she'll whip your butt around."

"Fair enough for me." Steve hugged her, "Have a good night."

"Same to you, mon ami." Zeryn hugged him back, then laid down and got herself comfortable.

"Are you sure you're…"

Zeryn pointed towards his bedroom door, "Good night, mon ami."

"Alright, I get it. Sleep well." Steve walked past Bucky's room, unaware that Bucky was watching, and went into his room, closing the door behind him.

Bucky waited for several long moments until he knew that it was safe to exit his room and go visit with Steve. He crept past Zeryn, who had passed out within minutes of laying down, and to Steve's room. He silently opened up the door and went inside. He cracked the door open slightly, then walked over to Steve's bed. He was able to get a look around his room, with what light he had coming from the slightly open curtains covering the window.

Hanging up on the walls where pictures and old newspaper articles. Most of the pictures were of him and Bucky, but they were mostly older pictures of the two of them growing up together. The newspaper articles were war related with all the deeds that he and Bucky accomplished together.

Bucky glanced around at the frames as memories flowed back into him. He turned slightly to see that Steve was awake and watching him.

"How long have you been up?" Steve asked with a slight yawn as he pushed himself up, "Nightmare?"

"I've…been up for a bit. And, no, no nightmare. Just…kind of a weird dream. I don't know how to describe it, but it was weird." Bucky replied as he walked over to Steve, then sat down on the bed next to him, "But, it was better than the dreams I've been having the past several nights."

"Bad nightmares?"

Bucky nodded slightly, "Very bad. It's hard to go back to sleep knowing that another one is lurking somewhere within. Though, I did have a good dream last night. Much better than the dreams I've been having."

"What was it about? Do you remember?"

"I'm don't remember all that much, but I was coming home from the war and you were at the train depot to meet me. You were standing there with some kind of dog. I thought you had picked up a stray while I was gone. Then, you took me over to a cab that drove past the place we were staying at to this nicer looking house. While I was away, an older couple had taken you in. They took me in as well."

"Wow. That sounds like a really great dream! I'd kill to have that!"

"One of the only good dreams I've had. All the others were just nightmares." Bucky looked through the darkness and over to one of the pictures on the wall across the way, "Though, I'm not going to lie, I do miss the little guy from Brooklyn, who was too dumb not to run away from a fight." He turned his head to face Steve.

A slight smile came over Steve's face, "And, I miss the guy who'd always stand up for me."

Bucky put his arm around Steve's neck, then pulled him over to him, "Hey! Someone's got to look after your ass. Could get yourself beat up pretty good. Gotta learn to stop picking fights with the guys who can knock you around so easily."

"I have you now, so I can pick fights with whoever I'd like because you'll be there to back me up."

Bucky grinned to himself. He was well aware that Steve could easily stand up for himself, but he enjoyed the notion of knowing that, deep down, he was still that little guy who never backed down from a fight, "Of course I will. I'll throw those guys to the curb. Heck, I'd throw them through a building if they ever broke a bone in your fragile body."

"I'm sure you would." Steve was able to get out of Bucky's grasp and sit up straight. His back had begun to hurt him slightly from being bent over like that, "So, tell me. What was the dog in your dream like? What was the house like? What were the couple like?"

Bucky turned on the bed slightly, enjoying Steve's enthusiasm about the dream. He could tell that Steve had just turned into a little boy, the same boy he had told stories to when he was sick. A slight smile came to his face as he brushed a bit of hair behind his ear, ready to tell Steve all he could remember about the dream.

Outside in the living room, Zeryn was listening to the two of them with a smile on her own face. She was happy that she was able to reunite the two of them back together again. She allowed her eyes to close as she listened to a mix of Bucky's voice and the music playing near her. Slowly, the two sounds faded as she drifted back to sleep.

Bucky walked out of his room dead tired. His hair was a mess and in front of his face. He looked like he had just had a fight with some kind of animal. He had no idea why he was like this or what happened. He moved himself towards the fold out bed, where Zeryn was sitting up looking at a menu, then collapsed on it.

Zeryn glanced over at him. She had just gotten up several minutes ago and had a headband on holding her hair back, "Um…what happened to you?"

"I don't even know myself." Bucky managed to pull himself all the way onto the fold out bed, "I feel like I didn't sleep at all last night…or something attacked me. I need coffee!"

"I don't drink coffee, so I don't know how to make it. You'll have to wait till Steve gets back from his run." She looked back down at the menu, but quickly saw that Bucky had placed his head on her lap and was looking up at her, "Bad dream again? Or, just couldn't sleep?"

Bucky shrugged as he moved some hair away from his face, "I'm not sure. I felt like I didn't sleep, but I could have sworn I was dreaming."

"I know what you mean. I've had nights like that before. It's common. Though, I normally feel wide awake and well rested after nights like that, for some reason. Maybe they affect others differently. Were you up late talking with Steve?"

"You knew?"

"I woke up slightly during the night and heard you all talking. I didn't hear much. I passed out not too long after."

Bucky nodded slightly, "We were up for awhile. I don't even know how long. Maybe that's why I'm dead tired."

"It happens. I've caught myself staying up too late as well. Mainly reading, though."

Bucky stayed silent for a moment before sitting up. If he didn't, he was sure he'd pass out right then and there. He forced himself to get up and went over to the kitchen, "Know where he keeps the glasses around here?"

Zeryn turned around and looked over the back of the couch, "No clue on that one."

Bucky began to go through the cabinets.

"If it helps any, try drinking some iced water. It'll help wake you up." She said while watching him.

Once Bucky found a glass, he walked over to the refrigerator and looked at it. Out of all the devices in Steve's apartment, this one looked a bit complex. There was something on the outside of the freezer that could dispense ice and water.

Zeryn jumped over the back of the couch, then walked over to him, "Going through some culture shock?" She asked while removing the glass from his hand and showing him how to get ice and water from the dispenser.

"We…never had anything like this."

"Times have changed." Zeryn handed the glass to him, "While you were brainwashed and being kept in that tub, you were unaware of the changes that were happening in this world. You'd be surprised what's different between now and the thirties and forties. But, don't worry. Steve will help you out…even though he's still learning a few things himself. Who knows what new and interesting things you'll discover together." She gave him a reassuring smile before going back over to the foldout bed and sitting down on it.

Bucky looked down at the glass for a moment before walking after her. He sat down next to her, not really sure what to say. But, soon, something came to mind, "What power does your boyfriend have?"

"Kinetic energy." She replied, "It's a very difficult thing to control. It can destroy anything with a slight touch. The bigger the object, the bigger the explosion. The trick is keeping it under control. Whenever he passes the power to me, I have to remember not to let it control me. I have to control it. I allow it to flow through me, but it will always come out of my fingers and onto the object that will be used as my weapon. Cards are what he uses and I do the same. He doesn't like to kill people. He knows that he can, but he can't bare to live with himself if he does. Cards do less damage to the person. Sure, they might put you through a wall or send you out a window, depending on how many he uses, but they won't kill. My power and his combined within me…can be most deadly."

"If the power can blow up anything, how come it doesn't do that to you?"

"The first time he put some of his power within me, he made it so it wouldn't bring harm to me. He controlled it…even in the state that he was in at the time." She closed her eyes for a moment as she allowed that though to quickly pass through. She opened them again, "Since then, I've learned to control it on my own. I only have what's in the necklace. Once it's used up, then it's gone until he puts more of his power back into it. I only have that for emergencies. Other than that, I have no use for the power. I'm fine with my claws."

"Do mutants live for along time?" He asked before taking a sip of the water. He felt a shiver go down his spin. Yes, he was defiantly awake now.

"I really can't answer that question. I would say it depends on the powers. But, it would suck to live forever. Seeing all the people you love die before you and going on without them. I can't even imagine. I would hate to be alone forever."

Bucky looked down at his glass. Steve had been alone for a while…well, at least he assumed it had been that long…trying to figure out this new world without him…without anyone that he knew and loved around him. It really must have been hard on Steve. But, now, he wasn't alone. They had each other. He was still trying to adjust to this new world around him, but he was sure that Steve would help him out…help him to not feel so scared and lonely.

"Where would you go?"

"That, I don't even know myself. I don't want to think about it, really. I try not to think about what'll happen in the future. I just want to think about now. And, you should do the same." She smiled lightly at him, "Take it one day at a time."

Bucky looked at her, "How do you go from saying something depressing, but change it around to something more…happy?"

"Because there is always light in the darkness. You just have to know where to find it." She smiled at him, then turned her head when she heard the door open up and saw Steve walking in.

"What a run!" Steve closed the door behind him, "Ran twenty miles in twenty minutes! I'd say that's a good accomplishment for the day! You should join me next time." He walked into the kitchen.

"Who might you be talking to?" Zeryn asked as Bucky drank some more of the cold water.

"Both of you." Steve pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator, then walked over to them, "Running's good for you! Can I just say that it's a great stress reliever!"

"You can take him with, but I'm not going."

"Oh, come on. It's good for you." Steve opened up the bottle of water, then took a sip from it.

"Mein freund, I don't run. I power walk, but don't run."

"Haven't you ever tired running before?"

"I've been chased before and have chased. That's enough running for me." She leaned back against Bucky's arm, "Why run if you're not being chased or chasing anything?"

"So you'll be ready to run when you're being chased or need to chase." Steve smiled.

"I'll just stick to power walking." She reached over and grabbed the menu, "Now, what are we going to have for breakfast?"

"I already know what to order for all of us." Steve took the menu from her, then walked over to his phone, which was still a landline, "I'll be paying and you can't talk me out of that."

"Alright, alright. I'll keep out of that part. Make sure there's hash browns, please." She turned her glance to Bucky as she listened to what Steve was ordering, "I hope your hungry because we're going to be eating…a lot."

"Oh don't worry. I'm plenty ready for it." Bucky grinned slightly before taking another sip of the water.

After breakfast, Zeryn cleaned herself up, helped Steve put the living room back together, then got her things together. She was ready to head back to the mansion, even though she wanted to stick around for a little while longer, but she had a martial arts class to teach and she knew that the students enjoyed it when she was teaching, even if they liked it when the professor would take over from time to time. But, after having to deal with Logan while she was away, she felt it was best to take over. She stood by the door with Steve and Bucky.

"Do you really have to leave now?" Steve asked, "Can't you stay just a little bit longer?"

"I have a class to teach in a few hours, so I better get back and get myself prepared. But, I would love to stay much longer, if I could." Zeryn replied to him.

"Then stick around…just for another hour or so."

"You know where I'm at. You can come visit. Plus, the nice, fresh forest air would do wonders for you."

"Will your professor allow us to come?"

"He let Bucky stay the night. Plus, the students were really nice to him. You're among friends. I'm sure he'd be honored to have you two stay."

Steve nodded slightly before giving her a hug, "Have a safe trip."

Zeryn smiled and hugged him back, "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be just fine."

"Will you come back and visit?" Bucky asked.

"As long as you're still in the area, then of course I will. But, you are always welcome to come visit me. If you don't feel comfortable coming back to the mansion, just head to the town about ten minutes away from the mansion. We can meet up there and hang out."

Bucky walked over to her, then hugged her, "Thank you, for your help."

Zeryn hugged him back, "Always remember that you were never a bad person." She looked at him, "Someone hurt you, used you. You were never bad. Dreams might still linger, and the things that you've done cannot be washed away. But, they do not define who you are, which is a good soldier and a great man. Steve saw it. He knew it. Somewhere inside was the man that he knew, screaming for help. He didn't give up on you, he never did. He will always be there for you. And, so will I." She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Now, I believe you guys have a lot of catching up to do. And, I have a class to teach soon. Aloha Oe! Until we meet again, mein freunds!"

"Be careful and have fun in class!" Steve said as he watched her open up the door.

"Believe me, I won't be the only one having fun." Zeryn smiled to them, "I'm sure the students will be glad that Logan's not around to kick their butts around."

"Can we come to one of your classes?" Bucky asked.

"You are more than welcome to! Have a good day. I'll see you two later." She smiled before walking off down the hall and towards the elevator. After taking the elevator to the main lobby and then another to the garage, she walked over to her Hummer, then saw that Steve had left her a fake rose on the windshield. This one was black with fake blood on the peddles. She saw a note with it and read it. It was short and simple, but put a smile on her face.

'Zeryn,

Thank you for all your help. Now, I finally have my best friend back!

Steve'

"You are so sweet and such a gentleman, my friend! Never change." She whispered as she opened up the Hummer and put her bag inside before getting in and putting the rose and note on the passenger seat. After getting herself buckled in, she started up the Hummer, then drove off.


	11. Chapter 11

Zeryn pulled onto the mansion property a little over an hour later to see that some of the students were out front playing football. She drove past them and towards the garage. After parking the Hummer, she grabbed her things and got out. She headed towards the mansion and walked inside. Luka meet her by the stairs with Cookie.

"Did it go well? Are they friends again?" Luka asked as she walked next to Zeryn with Cookie trailing behind them.

"It went really well. Better than I thought it would. Steve was very happy and I'm sure Bucky is as well." Zeryn replied as they reached the top of the stairs and proceeded towards her dorm room, "Though, I could tell that they didn't want me to leave. I would have loved to stay a bit longer, but I do have a class to teach today. Didn't want to leave the professor in charge."

"You are going to see them again, right? And, will Bucky come back to visit? I think Cookie misses him."

Zeryn paused outside of her dorm room door and searched for her key in her bag, "Yes, I will visit them again. And, I'm sure Bucky will come visit. I bet he misses her. Maybe he'll convince Steve to get a dog. I'd like to see how all of that plays out." She was able to find her key at the bottom of her bag just as the professor came rolling up towards them.

"I thought that was your Hummer I saw pulling up. Welcome home. I see everything went well." Xavier said to her.

"Yes, it went very well. Steve's happy and I know Bucky is as well. Though, I'm sure it'll take him time to adjust to everything." Zeryn replied to him as she opened up the door. She looked back at him, "What's that package for? Please don't tell me Remy sent something that he won off of someone."

"No, it's not from Mr. LeBeau. Though, I should check up on him. I might have to limit him to these poker games he keeps going to. This is from someone else."

Zeryn allowed Luka, Cookie and the professor to enter her room first before following behind them and closing the door. She went over to the couch and put her bag down behind it before jumping over the back of it and sitting down.

Xavier rolled up beside her and handed the package to her, "I think you might have an idea of what this is."

Zeryn took the package from him as Luka sat down in one of the chairs while Cookie sat next to her and watched. She glanced at the return address and only two words popped out at her; Clint and S.H.I.E.L.D. Was Clint able to do the impossible and get her what she requested of him? She made one of her claws come out and slowly opened up the package. Once it was safely opened, her claw retracted into her fist and she began to open it. It was just what she had asked for. Bucky's dressy military uniform.

"What is it?!" Luka asked bouncing up and down like an excited child at Christmas time, "What is it?!"

"The young man's uniform. Though, shouldn't it be on display at the Smithsonian?" Xavier questioned while Zeryn grabbed a note that Clint had sent along with the package.

Zeryn began to read the note out loud to them, "Zeryn, I was able to track down Bucky's uniform. The one that's on display at the Smithsonian Institution is just a replica, since no one could locate the real one. His uniform was given to a relative of his, who has kept it in mint condition. This relative has become too weak to live by them self, and will be moving in with a family member. They wished to donate the uniform to the Institution, but found out that they already have one. The family allowed me to take it when I mentioned to them that I have a friend who collects World War Two items. I promised them that the uniform would be kept in the same condition my friend will receive it in. They allowed me to have it. Hope Bucky likes it. I'm sure Steve still has his. Send me pictures of them dressed up in their 'old timer outfits'! Clint."

"Hm…you would think that a great institution like the Smithsonian would take the real thing and not a replica." Xavier replied as he watched Zeryn put the note down and pull out the jacket.

"Do you think they know it's a replica, professor? I mean, how would they be able to tell?" Luka asked him, "And, how would they get ahold of it? Wouldn't they send the items to the family?"

"Well, Bucky didn't have a family. He was an orphan like Steve was. Though, it seemed like he did have some family floating around. Unless, one of the family members tricked the institution into thinking that they'd be getting the real thing. I could see them not wanting to give up a piece of family history, even for a display."

"Well, his name's written on the inside of the jacket." Zeryn showed the professor the label within the jacket, "Do you think the one in the institution has this label? Would they look for this kind of authenticity?"

"Hm…" Xavier studied the label, "His handwriting looks pretty easy to mimic, even if it appears to be fading a bit. I could see someone easily pulling off something like this."

"It's nice that they kept this." Zeryn laid the jacket down, then looked through the rest of the box, "Shirt, tie, pants, shoes, hat." She dug deeper into the box and found something at the bottom. She pulled out Bucky's dog tags.

"Um…any answers on how they could have mimicked that?" Luka pointed to the necklace in Zeryn's hand.

"That, I do not." Xavier replied as he watched Zeryn place the items back into the box, "How are you going to make this up to Clint? I'm sure he put a lot of effort into finding that for you."

"I'm thinking about that. If anything, I'll just send him a new quiver or some arrows. I have a feeling taking him out to dinner might be out of the question. Not sure when he'll be in town next." Zeryn pulled out her phone and texted Clint that she had received his package and what she could do to make it up to him.

"So, what are you going to do with that?" Luka asked.

Zeryn placed her phone down next to her before looking in the box at the uniform. A slight smile came to her face as she looked at the professor before turning to Luka, "I think I might have an idea."

Xavier smiled as he tapped into Zeryn's mind. Yes, that was a very good idea, indeed!

That Saturday, Steve and Bucky were attempting meditation for the third time. Steve had run out earlier that week to buy some inscents, but they kept messing with Bucky's head and driving his sinuses crazy, so they got candles instead. Steve put on some relaxing music, but Bucky kept falling asleep. Even Steve couldn't lie to himself that he had taken a nap or two himself. Yeah, two ninety something year old guys trying to meditate to soothing music was probably not the best idea.

While Steve was starting to get the hang of meditation, Bucky was fighting to keep himself from falling backwards as his mind kept drifting in and out of sleep. But, he didn't need to worry for much longer as the sound of the doorbell almost gave him a heart attack. His eyes quickly fluttered open as he fell back onto the carpet.

"I got it!" Steve jumped up and ran over to the door. He opened it to see Zeryn standing there with a bag in her hand. She was wearing a black long sleeved top, black half pants and a pair of slip on sandals that looked like Chuck Taylor Converse.

"Hey! Are you moving in with us?!" Steve asked.

"Not really. I have a surprise for the two of you." She said as she walked into the apartment when Steve allowed her to enter.

"A surprise! What is it?! Tell us!" Steve said happily as he closed the door.

Bucky groaned slightly as he pushed himself up, "Meditation is hard and sucks shit!"

"We keep falling asleep." Steve replied as he watched Zeryn go over to the couch and set herself.

Bucky noticed two more tattoos that Zeryn had. On her lower right leg was a dragon, which circled around the lower leg, and an Aquarius sign on her left ankle.

"The professor can help you with that." Zeryn said as she set the bag on the coffee table and opened it up, "It was hard at first, but it gets easy with time."

"We've tried it at least three times this week. It just makes us tired." Bucky got up off the floor and walked over to the chair and sat down in it, "And, those stupid inscents keep messing with my head! I don't think I've ever had a headache that bad in my life before."

"Well, you have to admit, Buck, we are rather old, so maybe soft music is a way to help us fall asleep." Steve replied.

"The professor makes us go outside when we meditate, unless it's too cold out, then we stay inside. But, it's usually pretty quiet, so we can focus better, but he leads us through it." Zeryn pulled the box out of her bag, then handed it to Bucky, "That's for you."

Bucky took the box from her, then looked down at it. He opened it up and his eyes widened slightly as his heart skipped a beat. He reached inside the box and pulled out the jacket to his old uniform.

Steve watched him, then quickly turned to Zeryn, "How did you…" He paused as Zeryn passed the note to him that Clint had sent with the package. He looked down at the note and began to read it.

Slowly, Bucky took the uniform out of the box, finding the dog tags at the bottom. He lifted them out and looked at them, "This…really is mine." He looked over at her.

"Had a feeling you'd like it." She smiled lightly at him, "Got a friend to pull a few strings to get it for me." She reached into her bag and pulled out her small messenger bag, "Steve, you still have yours, right?"

"Hanging up in my closet, yeah. Why?" Steve laid the note on her bag.

She opened up her bag, then reached inside and pulled out three tickets, "We're going to see The Phantom of the Opera tonight. Dinner first, then the show. It's on me." She flipped the tickets over when she saw Steve trying to look at them, "But, the seats are a surprise." She put the tickets back into her bag, then stood up, "So, I'd suggest you two start getting ready. Dinner's at four-thrity. I already have reservations for us. Doors to the theatre open at six-fifteen. Show starts at seven." She stuck the note into her messenger bag before picking up the other one, "Now, if you'll excuse me for awhile, I'll be in the bathroom getting changed." She made her way towards one of the two bathrooms within the apartment and locked herself inside.

Steve watched her, then quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed Bucky's wrist, "Come on! Let's get you all cleaned up!"

"Do I really have toooooo!" Bucky was yanked from his seat and was quickly following Steven into the other bathroom, "Wait! I can fix myself up!"

Steve stood in front of a mirror, that was hanging up on his bedroom wall, and adjusted his tie while Bucky sat on Steve's bed looking down at his dog tags while his jacket, tie and hat lay on the bed beside him. Within the past hour or less, Steve had managed to give Bucky a good shave and hair wash. He even let Bucky use some of his cologne. Even though he did struggle a bit, Steve had to remind him that they were going out with a young lady and that he had to look his best. Not only that, but he had to look his best in his uniform. Bucky couldn't lie to himself, though. He was looking forward to seeing himself in his uniform once again, but he didn't think that they'd be going to see this play…musical…movie? What what this show that Zeryn bought them tickets for anyway? Did Steve even know what it was about? It must be something big and important if Steve had to help get him cleaned up. He looked up to see Steve adjusting his hat, then turning to face him.

"Well, how do I look?" Steve asked.

"Probably better than I'll look." Bucky replied to him.

"Aw! Come on, Buck! You'll look great! Here, let me help you get ready!" Steve helped him up, "You have to look good when you go out with a young lady." He took the dog tags from Bucky, then placed them around Bucky's neck.

"Do you even know what this…thing is that we're going to see?" Bucky asked as he watched Steve pick up the tie and began to put it around Bucky's neck.

"It's a very popular musical. I've seen it advertised in Time Square. The square has changed so much since our time. You'll love it!" Steve adjusted the tie, then picked up the jacket and handed it to Bucky, "Maybe we can convince Zeryn to take us to some of the other musicals! Some of them look amazing!" Once he saw Bucky get his jacket on, he adjusted the buttons, so they were straight and looked neat. He picked up the hat and handed it to Bucky, "Remember, no wearing hats in the restaurant and theatre. But, you can wear it before then."

Bucky didn't really like Steve helping him out, but he began to remember how many times he helped Steve out. Maybe this was Steve's way of repaying him after all the things he did for Steve all those years ago. Though, he did have to admit that if it wasn't for Steve, then he'd probably be going to these places not dressed for the occasions. Once Steve moved out of the way, he walked over to the mirror and had a look at himself. The same reflection that he saw on the glass display case at the institution was now staring back at him again. Only this time he had the uniform on. It wasn't locked up behind glass. No. It was on him.

Steve walked up beside him and handed him a pair of gloves, "These should match with the uniform."

Bucky turned his head slightly and looked down at them. He hesitated for a moment before taking them from Steve and began to put them on. While his arm was covered by the uniform, his hand wasn't. It would be awhile before he could walk around without a glove or jacket on, but, for right now, it didn't matter because he was planning to ignore everything that had happened and just wanted to have a fun night with his friends.

"Perfect fit and perfect match." Steve adjusted one of the pins on Bucky's jacket, "So are you ready for tonight?"

Bucky nodded slightly, "Yes, I am."

Steve smiled, then looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand, "About fifty minutes until we have to be at the restaurant. I hope Zeryn's ready."

"Are you boys talkin' 'bout little ol' me?" Zeryn said from over by the door.

Both Steve and Bucky turned at the same time to have a look at her.

Zeryn was wearing a black halter top dress that went down to the floor. The top part of the dress looked like a corset. She had a black cropped cardigan on over the top of her dress. There was a large purple butterfly on the back of the cardigan. Her earrings and facial piercings were a mix of black and purple. Her hair was tied up into a high pony tail with black chop sticks, with purple butterfly decorations hanging off of them, sticking out of the pony tail. She had put a bit of make up on, but not too much. Mainly her eyes and lips. Her lips were black while black eye liner came off the sides of her eyes. Purple eye shadow completed the make up. She carried a bag that matched her cardigan, black with a purple butterfly on it and there were tassels hanging off the bottom of the bag.

"My! Don't you two boys look handsome in your military uniforms." She walked over to them, "Bet everyone at the theatre's going to be jealous that two handsome men are walking around with me."

"You…did your make up!" Steve said in a shocked voice. All the time that he'd known her she never wore make up. Personally, he liked her better without it because he made her look younger and because she wasn't afraid to show off her natural beauty.

"I wear it from time to time. Mainly when I'm going somewhere 'fancy', like tonight."

"Um…your shoes." Bucky replied.

"I have a pair of black, wedged sandals in the car. I can't drive in wedges, so I'm going to change once we get to the restaurant. I don't mind walking in them. The theatre is only four buildings down from the restaurant, so it won't be too bad." She went into her purse and pulled out her car key, "Alright. Got my wallet, tickets, fan, phone…I think I'm good to go. You boys ready?"

"I'm so ready!" Steve said excitedly as he ran out the door, "Come on, you guys! Let's go!"

"Even today, he's still a kid inside." Bucky said to Zeryn as he followed her out of Steve's room. He watched as she went over to the couch and slipped her Converse sandals on.

"Everyone is. You should go to Disney World sometime. You'd really feel like a kid there." Zeryn adjusted her purse, so it was over her opposite shoulder, like her messenger bag, then walked over to an excited Steve, "Make sure you have your key to get back in here."

"I do." Steve pulled the key from his pocket, then had it taken from him by Zeryn. He watched her drop it into her purse.

"Now I have it, so it won't get lose. Alright, let's get out of here." She waited until Steve opened up the door and allowed her to exit first. She watched him lock up the door from the inside, then headed towards the elevator, holding up her dress slightly, so it wouldn't drag on the floor.

As soon as they were in the garage, Steve began to look around for the car that Zeryn had brought with her. She always seemed to switch up vehicles whenever she came to visit him. But, he knew for sure that they weren't going to be taking a motorcycle. Him and Bucky were about to get the surprise of their lives as Zeryn pushed the button on the keys and the car alarm went off. Head and tail lights began to flash on a black Jaguar.

"Woo!" Steve was in awe as he walked up to the two door car, "This is awesome!"

"It's automatic." Zeryn replied as she unlocked the car, "I can't drive shift, so Remy got this one for me." She opened up the door, then moved the driver's seat forward, "Which one of you is sitting in back?"

"I don't care." Bucky said as he looked inside.

"Whoever sits in back will have to sit behind me, since I don't need to push the seat too far back."

"I can take the back. Buck, you sit up front." Steve ran over to Zeryn, then hopped into the back, "Wow! Leather seats! Awesome!" He got himself comfortable while Zeryn moved the seat back and Bucky got in the passenger side.

Zeryn put her purse on the floor next to Bucky's feet, "You can move my shoes, if you'd like." She said to him as she started up the car, "Just so you know, this car will beep at you if you don't put your seat belt on. And, I'm not leaving until both of you do just that."

Steve already had his on, so just Bucky needed to put his on, which he did in no time. Zeryn was already set and, within seconds, they were on their out of the garage and headed to Time Square. Broadway.

Bucky stared out the window in awe as the car rolled down Time Square. Everything looked different and had changed drastically since the last time he saw it when he was younger. While he did grow up in Brooklyn with Steve, he did remember visiting Time Square with his parents, but it was nothing compared to this. The buildings were much taller, there were more shops, lots of billboards advertising many different things, and a large screen on a building that separated the sides of the road. As he stared up at the tall buildings, the only thing he could think of was that they were ants compared to the buildings.

Steve was busy writing down all the musicals that appeared interesting to him in a small notebook he kept in a pocket inside of his jacket. Almost everywhere they drove, there was a billboard promoting some kind of musical or stage production. He was finding it hard to keep up with all of them.

Driving past the restaurant they'd be eating at, Zeryn pulled into a car garage just two buildings down from it. Since it was busy, she had to go up to the forth level before finding a place to park. Once in the spot, she pushed the seat back slightly, so she could quickly change her shoes. She grabbed her bag, then got out of the car. She slid the seat forward, so Steve could get out while Bucky got out of the passenger side. As soon as the car was all locked up, they headed towards the elevator that would take them to the ground level.

The elevator doors opened at ground level. They exited and were on their way to the restaurant. Steve had to drag Bucky along because Bucky was still very much awe struck by how much this area had changed. His culture shock was kicking in and he wasn't taking a liking to it. They proceeded into the restaurant and were seated as soon as they walked into the door. Their table was right by the window, so upon begin seated, glancing over menus and ordering, Bucky spent most of his time staring out the window while Zeryn and Steve talked about the productions Steve had written down in his notebook…and a few others that he had managed to miss billboards for while being distracted trying to write down others. Steve turned to look at Bucky and realized that he had forgotten to take his hat off. Steve removed Bucky's hat, which made Bucky jump slightly, for he was so focused about the world outside the fancy restaurant that he had completely lost touch with reality. Bucky took his hat back and set it on the table next to him just in time, for their meals had been delivered to their table. After several minutes of eating, and rejecting dessert do to how much they've eaten, the bill came to the table, but Zeryn was able to grab it before Steve could get his hands on it. She paid the bill, then they were on their way out of the restaurant and down the street towards the theatre.

There were people standing outside waiting for the doors to open. There was still about ten minutes before they did. Steve looked at the posters hanging up on the outside of the theatre while Bucky tried to contain himself around all the people. As if being in a large city wasn't enough, now he was trapped within a group of nicely dressed people. He started to feel claustrophobic, but snapped from it when he felt his hat being taken off of him again. He turned to see Zeryn had put it on her head, even though it was pushing down in front of her face because of the pony tail. He smiled lightly, then saw Steve push the small notebook in front of his face showing him all the different productions that were written within. Bucky had a feeling that the next several weeks of his life were going to be all about going to see musicals and plays. He was sure that he'd be sick of them within a week. He noticed people beginning to shuffle inside as Zeryn handed the hat back to him and adjusted the chop sticks in her hair before going into her purse and pulling out the tickets. Steve was overly excited to see the doors open up. They followed the crowd into the building.

At the door, Zeryn showed the man the tickets and he pointed to a grand staircase in the middle of the lobby. She lead them inside and towards the stairs. Bucky's eyes were as wide as they could be as he looked around the inside. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Unlike any of the movie theaters he'd been to with Steve. No. This was like a palace. Red carpet with gold designs, walls that were an artist's canvas, painted from floor to ceiling, the ceiling had magnificent carvings on it, a large chandelier with crystals hanging from it, reflecting the light every which way, even the railings on the staircase appeared to be made from gold. Never in his life had he imagined he'd be in such a wonderful place like this. He was able to snap out of his trance when he heard Steve calling for him over by the staircase. He quickly ran towards them and followed behind them, still completely awestruck. Steve helped Zeryn up the stairs as she held up the side of her dress slightly, so she wouldn't trip on it, even though she was sure that she wouldn't. Upon reaching the second level, she lead them over to the left, and towards an usher, who was standing in front of one of the hallways. She presented the tickets to him.

The man took them and studied them for a moment before handing them back to her, "Last curtain to the right. Enjoy the show."

"Thank you." She replied while receiving the tickets from him and leading the boys past the man and down the short hallway. Upon reaching the last of the three red curtains hanging up on the wall, she pulled it open to revile their seats. Their balcony seats.

"Wow!" Steve felt like a little kid at a candy store as he walked onto the balcony and looked around the large theatre that was beginning to fill up, "This is unbelievable!"

Bucky was equally impressed as he glanced around the theatre. The ceiling was all hand painted and the walls were painted a relaxing color. Across from them were three more balconies with two right next to their own. They had a great view of the stage, which was covered with a large, red velvet curtain at the moment. He could see the pit director standing in an opening at the bottom of the stage. Up on the ceiling he saw a chandelier, but it was much different than the one he saw in the lobby. As he was about to sit down, he saw a program sitting on his chair. He picked it up, then seated himself next to Zeryn, with Steve sitting on her other side. He removed his hat, then set it on his lap before opening up the program to have a look through it.

"Surprise." Zeryn smiled at him as she pulled a black fan out of her purse, then laid her purse down under the seat. She opened it up and began to fan herself. There was a purple butterfly on the fan.

"You didn't have to get us balcony seats. Normal seats down front would have been fine." Steve replied as he watched her, "But, this is really incredible! How can I pay you back for all of this?"

"You don't have to. Consider this and dinner a gift from me to the two of you."

"But, I'd really…"

"Hey! No hats on in the theatre, punk." Bucky was leaning over in his seat looking at Steve with a grin on his face.

"Jerk." Steve replied with a smile as he removed his hat and set it on his lap.

Bucky smiled a little and sat back as the lights around them flicked for a second.

"Five minutes until show time." Zeryn said as she made herself comfortable in her seat while continuing to fan herself.

Almost two hours later, people began to shuffle from the theatre and into the late night evening. Bucky was escorting Zeryn towards the parking garage while Steve was bouncing up and down next to them, still excited from the day that they had. It had chilled up slightly and Bucky had offered his jacket to Zeryn, who kindly took it and put it on. They followed several other people to the garage. Bucky kind of felt embarrassed by how crazy Steve was acting. He had a feeling that they'd be up all night long. He wondered just what Steve had been drinking to cause him to act this hyper. All he hoped for was that it would reside soon, and he was about to get his wish.

Both Steve and Bucky decided to sit in the back of the car on the way back to the apartment. Bucky let out a long yawn while Zeryn quickly changed up her shoes while a few cars drove past them out of the garage. Zeryn turned on the car and waited for it to warm up a bit. She turned the heat on, but kept it on a low power, since it had gotten chillier since earlier this afternoon, but she wasn't sure if Steve or Bucky would get too hot. She felt comfortable in the cardigan and Bucky's jacket, but her legs and feet were a bit chilly. She turned on the radio and turned it down, so it was a bit quieter than it was before. Soon, she was ready to head out of the garage and back to the apartment.

Getting out of the garage took a little while do to how many people were exiting. Getting back to the apartment was going to take longer than she expected it to be. Normally when she'd come to the city, either Logan or Remy would be driving, so she didn't have to put up with this stuff, let alone the fact that she disliked driving at night in the city, but she'd find her way around. She wasn't worried because she could always pull over and get out her GPS. But, for now, she wanted to try it on her own.

Bucky could feel his eyes getting heavy as he watched the light from inside the garage change to the bright lights of the square. He let out another yawn and was about to rest his head against the window until he felt something on his shoulder. He turned to see that Steve had laid his head on Bucky's shoulder and let out the same long yawn Bucky had perviously let out before they exited the garage. Bucky watched as Steve quickly fell into a deep sleep. At least he wasn't going to be hyper for the rest of the night. He glanced over at the rearview mirror as lights lit up his face every time they went past a street light. He began to feel sleep consume his body as he rested his head on top of Steve's and allowed the soft song playing in the car to help put him to sleep.

Zeryn looked into the rearview mirror and could see the two of them. She smiled lightly as the stop light she had been sitting at turned green, allowing her to drive on by and to the apartment, which took a bit longer than normal because of all the traffic in the area. But, they made it back safe and sound and she got lucky enough to find an empty spot next to Steve's motorcycle, which had been occupied earlier in the day. She turned off the car, then unbuckled her seatbelt. She turned slightly and looked at the two of them, still conked out from their long evening. She reached over to her purse and pulled out her phone. She looked at the pictures that they took that evening during intermission. There were a few pictures of her and Steve and her and Bucky, and four of Steve and Bucky together. She couldn't help, but smile at them knowing that she helped bring two friends together, despite what happened several weeks back in DC. Now, they were both safe and free of any threats from HYDRA, and she hoped that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't be needing Steve any time soon because Bucky needed Steve to help him recover. Needed Steve to help him adjust and needed Steve to be there for him like how he had been there for Steve. It was true, they needed each other, because, without each other, they'd have nothing. She wasn't exactly sure what drove Bucky to become friends with Steve in the first place, but she was glad that these two found each other. They complemented each other perfectly as if they were long lost brothers.

She held the phone up and took a quick picture of them still passed out in the back seat. She turned back around in her seat, so she was more comfortable and sent the picture to her professor with a two word message;

'Mission Accomplished.'


End file.
